r 


GEEMANY: 


ENGLAND,  AND  SCOTLAND; 


OR, 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   A   SWISS   MINISTER. 


BY 


J.  H.  MERLE  D'AUBIGNE,  D.D. 


Hie  enim  liber  ....  professinne  pietatis  ....  excumtits  erit. 

TACITUS. 


NEW   YORK: 
ROBERT    CARTER,    58    CANAL    ST. 

1848. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


IN  the  spring  of  the  year  1845,  the  author  was  called 
upon  to  undertake  a  journey  into  Germany  and  Great 
Britain,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  closer  the  bonds 
of  union  between  those  countries  and  the  Christians 
of  Geneva,  and  in  particular  with  the  Evangelical 
Society  of  this  town.  On  his  return,  his  Genevese 
friends  requested  from  him  an  account  of  what  he  had 
seen.  The  author  deemed  it  his  duty  not  to  refuse 
this  request ;  and  the  report  was  made  at  the  end  of 
the  winter  of  1846,  in  four  meetings,  which  were  held 
either  in  the  great  hall  of  the  Casino,  or  in  the  chapel 
of  the  Oratoire.  In  the  following  year,  in  the  winter 
of  1847,  the  author  was  again  asked  if  he  had  no 
other  communications  to  make,  and,  therefore,  to  the 
recollections  of  his  journey,  presented  on  the  previous 
year,  he  added  some  historical  recollections.  As  the 
public  who  attended  these  meetings  seemed  to  think 
that  it  would  be  beneficial  to  publish  his  statements, 
the  author  sends  them  to  the  press.  This  work  is 
naturally  divided  into  two  parts :  Travelling  Recol- 
lections and  Historical  Recollections.  The  author  is 


IV  ADVERTISEMENT. 

desirous  that  these  sketches  should  recall  him  to  the 
memory  of  the  many  dear  friends  from  whom  he  re- 
ceived so  kind  a  welcome ;  and  to  them  he  dedicates 
his  "Recollections,"  as  a  mark  of  his  gratitude  and 
affection.  He  especially  desires  that,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  they  may  conduce  to  the  advancement  of  His 
kingdom. 

Eaux  Vives,  Geneva,  December,  1847. 


CONTENTS, 


TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS 

CHAPTER  I.— GERMANY. 

SECTION  I. — SOLITARY  LIFE.  Page. 

The  Scientific  and  the  Practical  Elements  in  the  Church.  Trans- 
formation -----------14 

SECTION  II. — FIRST  MOVEMENT. — INFIDELITY. 
First  Arrival  in  Germany.  Struggles.  Kiel  and  Kleuker.  Rieu. 
Exceeding  abundantly.  Deliverance.  Raitonalismus  vulgaris. 
Emancipation  of  Mind.  Hegel.  Orthodox  and  Heterodox 
Tongues.  Strauss.  His  Successors,  Bruno,  Bauer,  Feuerbach, 
Stirner.  Atheism.  Materialism.  Oxford.  Friends  of  Light  -  17 

SECTION  III. — FAITH. 

Jubilee  of  the  Reformation  in  1817.  Festival  of  the  Wartburg. 
Revival  of  Faith.  Practical  School.  A  Defect.  Doctrine  of 
Election.  The  Gospel  preached  to  the  Poor.  Scientific  School. 
Its  Doctors.  Symbolical  School.  Evangelical  Gazette.  Abso- 
lute Conservatism.  Ecclesiastical  School.  The  Union.  The 
Liturgy.  Lutheran  Movement.  Silesia  -  -  -  -  -  27 

SECTION  IV. — SECOND  MOVEMENT. — CHRISTIAN  SOCIETIES. 
Society  of  Gustavus  Adolphus.  Assembly  of  Stutgard.  Univer- 
sality and  Mixture.  The  two  great  Principles  of  Protestantism. 
Different  Nationalities  and  Christian  Catholicism.  Conservatives 
and  Aggressives :  Negatives  and  Positives :  Externals  and  Inter- 
nals. A  probable  Separation  -------36 

SECTION  V — CHURCH  PRINCIPLES. 

German  Churches.  A  slow  Passage  or  a  Leap.  Visit  to  a  German 
Theologian.  The  Foundation  of  the  Church.  The  Mind  and 
the  Body.  Radicalism  and  Conservatism.  Science  and  Life. 
The  State  and  the  Church.  The  Monarchical  and  the  Repre- 
sentative Systems.  The  German,  the  Roman,  and  the  Genevese 
Systems.  An  Evening  at  Stolzenfels.  The  Inauguration.  The 
King  of  Prussia  ---------40 

SECTION  VI. — THE  GERMAN  CATHOLIC  QUESTION. 
German  Catholicism.  Manheim,  Heidelberg,  Stutgard.  Worship. 
Catholicism,  Evangelism,  Morals.  Orthodox  Minority,  Ration- 
alist Majority.  Radical  Constitution.  Music  and  Repasts.  The 
true  Baptism  of  a  Church.  Probable  Futurity.  M.  Gervinus. 
The  Life  of  Faith.  Germany  stirs.  The  Vocation  of  a  People. 
Geneva 48 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  II.— ENGLAND. 

Page 

SECTION  I. — RELIGION  AND  THE  PEOPLE. 

Arrival.  Salutation.  Revolution  now  in  progress.  Error.  The 
Sectarian  System.  The  Latitudinarian.  The  Christian.  Po- 
pery. The  Gardener  of  the  State  ------  56 

SECTION  II. — THE  ENGLISH. 

Entry  into  London.  Bustle.  Practical  Tendency.  The  Common 
People.  Public  Men.  The  Youth.  Equality  and  Liberty. 
Wealth.  Country  Seats  and  Shops.  The  Aristocracy.  British 
Enthusiasm.  Hospitality.  Discipline  and  Piety  -  -  -  62 

SECTION  III. — DEFECTS. 

Bondage  to  the  Comfortable  and  the  Fashionable.  The  Merit  of 
Wealth  and  Power.  Puritanism  and  Worldliness.  Christianity 
•should  be  manifested  in  the  Flesh.  Evils  of  large  Properties. 
An  Exception.  The  Sites.  Grandeur  of  the  Manufacturing 
and  Mercantile  Towns.  The  reverse  of  the  Medal.  A  human 
Form  in  the  Strand.  A  Story  in  a  Sermon.  Want  of  popular 
Instruction.  Drs.  Sack  and  Luke  ------  70 

SECTION  IV. — PIETY  AND  DUTY. 

Conscientiousness  of  a  People.  Religion  necessary  to  England. 
Service  at  Cambridge.  Fear  of  God  among  the  People.  The 
Divine  Law  or  Duty.  Sunday  in  Britain.  The  Railroads  and 
the  Sunday.  Puseyism  proceeds  from  the  same  Principle  -  -  80 

SECTION  V. — THE  ARTICLES  AND  THE  ORATORS. 
Doctrine  and  Life.     Religious  Meetings.     Capacity  of  the  British. 
Explosions  of  Eloquence.     The  Lions  of  Meetings  in  Scotland 
and  England.     Preachers  --------88 

SECTION  VI. — UNION  AND  SEPARATION. 

Christian  Union.  Breakfast  at  Liverpool.  The  Bishop  and  the 
London  Missions.  Westminster  and  the  Presbyterians.  Hano- 
ver Square  Rooms  and  Finsbury  Chapel.  Communion  at  Ge- 
neva. Strength  of  the  Evangelical  Party  -  -  -  -  95 

SECTION  VIL — THE  REFORMATION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND. 
Two  Revolutions : — In  Theological  Instruction,  and  in  Church 
Government.  Convocations.  The  Shadows.  Preservation  and 
Transformation.  Reform.  Intervention  of  Members  of  the 
Church.  Necessity  of  Ecclesiastical  Institutions.  Two  Armies 
against  Rome.  Confidence  and  Error  -  101 

CHAPTER  III.— SCOTLAND. 

SECTION  I. — EDINBURGH. 

Germany,  England,  and  Scotland.  Crossing  England  by  Rail- 
way. Arrival  in  Scotland.  Chalmers.  Edinburgh.  The  Old 
and  the  New  Town.  The  Castle  Hill.  Holyrood  -  -  -113 

SECTION  II. — SCOTTISH  DOCTRINE. 

Difference  between  the  English  and  the  Scotch.  Scottish  Char- 
acter. A  Proof  of  the  Reformation.  Importance  of  Doctrine. 
Spirit  and  Life.  Character  of  Scottish  Theology.  Basis.  Apex  119 


CONTENTS.  VH 

SECTION  III. — WORSHIP.  Page. 

A  Sermon.  Length.  A  Farewell  Sermon.  Liberty.  The  Lord's 
Supper.  Standing  or  Sitting  1  Discipline;  Essential  or  not? 
Public  Instruction  -  -  -  -  -  -.-  -  -  123 

SECTION  IV. — THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  PALACE. 

Disruption  of  1843.  State  of  the  Established  Church.  Holyrood 
and  the  Lord  High  Commissioner.  The  General  Assembly  of 
the  Establishment  and  the  Platform.  Was  a  Speech  necessary  ! 
Dinner  at  Holyrood  ---------  129 

SECTION  V. — THE  FREE  ASSEMBLY. 

Impartiality.  The  Assembly  Time.  The  18th  of  May  and  Can- 
non Mills.  Our  Entrance.  A  Scottish  Assembly.  Speech  of 
Chalmers.  Geneva  and  Scotland.  Popery  and  Erastianism. 
Bonfires  of  Straw 134 

SECTION  VI. — SPEECHES  OF  THE  DEPUTIES. 
Dr.  Gordon,  Dr.  Macfarlane,  Dr.  Brown.     Fatigue  and  Repose     -  140 


CHAPTER  IV.— THE  SCOTTISH  QUESTION. 
SKCTION  I. — Two  INFLUENCES. 

The  Produce  of  Scotland.  Development  of  Being.  The  two  In- 
fluences. The  two  Swords.  Task  of  the  Reformation  -  -  143 

SECTION  II. — DOCTRINE. 

Distinctions  between  the  Evangelical  and  the  Moderate  Parties. 
Not  in  Doctrine.  Person  of  Christ.  The  two  Natures.  The 
Arminian  Question  ---------  146 

SECTION  III. — THE  TWO  EXTREMITIES  OF  THE  SCALE. 

The  Church  Question.  Distinction  between  Scotland  and  Eng- 
land. Different  Origins  of  their  Churches.  Scotland  considered 
from  the  English  point  of  View.  Should  Scotland  draw  nearer 
to  England,  or  England  to  Scotland  1  -----  152 

SECTION  IV. — CHURCH  AND  GOVERNMENT. 

Doctrine  of  Scotland  respecting  the  Church.  Kingship  of  Christ. 
His  Laws.  His  Ministers.  Spiritual  and  Temporal  Govern- 
ment. Incapacity  of  the  latter  to  govern  the  Church  -  -  155 

SECTION  V. — IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SYSTEM. 

Government  of  Christ  opposed  to  that  of  Antichrist.  The  Refor- 
mation cannot  be  a  mere  Negation.  The  Right  of  Scotland. 
The  two  Principles  of  the  Secession:  1st.  Non-intrusion;  2d. 
Spiritual  Independence.  A  Theorem  and  two  Corollaries.  Es- 
sential Cause  of  the  Disruption  159 

SECTION  VI. — A  COMPARISON. 

The  Scottish  and  the  Separationist  Systems.  Differences.  Com- 
plete and  Imperfect.  Positive  and  Negative.  Doctrine  and  is- 
cipline.  Effectual  and  Ineffectual.  Claims  of  the  State  -  -62 


V1U  CONTENTS. 

SECTION  VII. — A  REQUISITE  OP  UNION.  page 

Three  Phases  of  the  Scottish  Church.  Conscience  and  Expedi- 
ency. Discord  not  Union.  Accusation.  Complement.  The 
Solar  System -  167 

HISTORICAL  RECOLLECTIONS. 
CHAPTER  V.— SCOTTISH  STRUGGLES. 

SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. — POPERY. 

SECTION  I. — THE  BEGINNING. 

Travellers.  History  and  its  Lessons.  Two  Men  at  Geneva.  The 
Vocation  of  Scotland.  Return  of  Knox.  St.  Andrews.  Tri- 
umph of  the  Reformation.  The  Church  Free  -  173 

SECTION  II. — A  CHURCH  AND  A  Q.UEEN. 

First  Book  of  Discipline.  Election  of  Pastors.  Mary  Stuart.  Op- 
position. League  of  Bayonne.  The  Holyrood  Murder  -  -  179 

SECTION  III. — THE  TULCHANS. 

The  Church  established.  Spiritual  Independence  of  the  Church. 
Death  of  the  Good  Regent.  Tulchan  Bishops.  Saying  of 
Erskine  of  Dun  .-..--.--  1S4 

SECTION  IV. — THE  COURTIERS  AND  A  MINISTER  or  GOD^ 
The  Book  of  Policy.    James,   Lennox,  and  Arran.     Archbishop 
Montgomery.     Act  against  Civil  Admission.     Protest  of  the  As- 
sembly.    Melville  before  the  King.     James  yields       -  187 

SECTION  V. — KING  JAMES  AND  PRESBYTERIANISM. 
The  Black  Acts.      Protest.      Protestant  Reaction.      Presbyterian 
Speech  of  the  King.     Ecclesiastical  Charter  of  1592          -        -  194 

SECTION  VI. — Two  KINGS  AND  Two  KINGDOMS. 
New  Reaction.    Deputation  to  the  King.     Andrew  Melville.    Dan- 
gers.    Strength  and  Courage     -        - 196 

CHAPTER  VI.— SCOTTISH  STRUGGLES. 
SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. — PRELACY  OF  LAUD. — PART  I. 

SECTION  I. — KING-CRAFT. 

Utility  of  History.  Maxim  of  James.  Basilicon  Doron.  King- 
craft. General  Assembly  gained  over.  Representation  in  Par- 
liament. Northern  Legion.  The  king  prevails.  James,  King 
of  England.  Assembly  of  Aberdeen.  Persecution  ...  200 

SECTION  II. — A  FREE  MINISTER  AND  A  SERVILE  CHURCH. 
Welsh,  Minister  of  Ayr.     Six  Ministers  before  the  Jury.     Welsh's 
Speech.      Letter    to   Lilias    Graham.     The  parting  at   Leith. 
Welsh  in  France.     Acts  of  1610  and  1612.    The  Five  Articles  of 
Perth.    Welsh  and  Louis  XIII.    Mrs.  Welsh  and  King  James  -  204 

SECTION  III. — THE  KING'S  CANONS  AND  THE  IMPRISONED  MINISTERS. 

Charles  I.  Arminianism  and  Immorality  in  Scotland.  Prelacy 
of  Laud.  The  Canons.  The  Two  Parties.  The  Inquisition. 
Rutherford  in  Prison.  The  Service  Book  brought  into  Edinburgh  210 


CONTENTS.  IX 

SECTION  IV. — THE  COVENANT.  page. 

23rd  July,  1637.  The  Service  Book  interrupted.  Interdict.  Agi- 
tation. Orders  of  the  King.  Complaint  against  Bishops.  Fast. 
28th  February,  1658.  The  Covenant  signed.  Livingstone.  The 
Highlands.  Grutli 213 

SECTION  V. — SECOND  REFORMATION. 

Hamilton.  General  Assembly  called.  The  Bishops  accused.  The 
Lord  High  Commissioner  withdraws.  Firmness  of  the  Assem- 
bly. Second  Reformation.  The  Covenanters  -  -  -  -  219 

SECTION  VI. — WAR  AND  PEACE. 

Westminster  Assembly.  Election  of  Pastors.  Abolition  of  Patron- 
age. Charles  II.  called.  Ireland  and  Scotland.  Resolutionists 
and  Protesters.  Ten  Years  of  Peace.  Spiritual  Warfare  -  -  224 

CHAPTER  VII.— SCOTTISH  STRUGGLES. 

SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. — PRELACY  OF  LAUD. — PART  II. 

SECTION  I. — THE  FIRST  MARTYRS. 

Individualism  and  Catholicism.  Babylonish  Captivity.  23d  Au- 
gust 1660.  Middleton  and  his  Parliament.  Martyrdom  of  Ar- 
gyle.  Of  Guthrie.  Of  Govan 231 

SECTION  II. — THE  DISRUPTION. 

Act  of  1662.  The  Four  Prelates.  Order  to  the  Ministers.  Jour- 
ney and  Banquets.  Act  of  Glasgow.  Resolution  of  the  Minis- 
ters. The  last  Sunday.  John  Welsh.  Blackadder.  Peden  -  237 

SECTION  III. — CURATES  AND  GARRISONS. 

Delay  granted.  The  Curates.  Their  Arrival.  Horse  and  Foot. 
Before  and  After.  Co-operation  of  the  Curates  and  the  Garri- 
sons. Soldier-judges.  A  Military  Expedition  -  244 

SECTION  IV. — TYRANNY  AND  INDULGENCES. 

Middleton  dismissed.  Drag-net  Act.  High  Commission  Court. 
Pentland.  Execution  of  M'Kail.  First  Indulgence.  Act  of 
1669.  Second  Indulgence  and  Blair.  Retirement  of  Leighton  -  250 

SECTION  V. — FAINTING  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Presbyterian  Conventicles.  Cameron.  The  Duke  of  York.  Spirit. 
Scarcity  of  the  Word.  Excommunication  by  Cargill.  The  Duke 
of  Rothes 256 

SECTION  VI. — THE  KILLING  TIME. 

Testimony  of  Marion  Harvey.  Death  of  Cargill.  The  Murderous 
Time.  Declaration  of  1684.  The  Sea  and  Margaret  Wilson. 
John  Brown  and  Claverhouse.  General  Persecution  -  -  262 

SECTION  VII. — THE  REVOLUTION. 

Designs  of  James  II.     Peden's  Wanderings.     Act  of  Toleration. 
The  last  Martyr.     The  Pope's  Godson.     Revolution  of  1688. 
Restoration  of  Presbyterianism   and  Abolition  of   Patronage 
Communion  of  Saints.     New  Period  and  New  Arms         -        -  271 
1* 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIIL— SCOTTISH  STRUGGLES. 

SECTION  I. — UNION  AND  PATRONAGE.  page. 

Eighteenth  and  Nineteenth  Century.  Patronage.  Awakening  and 
Sleep.  Union  of  England  and  Scotland.  Fundamental  Con- 
dition. The  Jacobites  and  the  Pretender.  The  Jacobites  restore 
Patronage.  Alarm  of  Scotland.  An  old  Iniquity  -  281 

SECTION  II. — ROBERTSON'S  PERIOD  AND  MODERATISM. 
Worldliness  and  Arminianism  in  the  Church.     Protesting  for  Sev- 
enty-two Years.     Moderatism.     Ebenezer  Erskine.     Robertson 
and  his  Times.     Thomas  Gillespie.     Military  Intrusions.     Nigg. 
A  solemn  Appeal.     Unitarianism  enters  the  Church  -        -        -  287 

SECTION  III. — CHALMERS'  PERIOD  AND  THE  VETO. 
Transition.  French  Revolution.  Missions.  The  Chalmers'  Period 
begins.  His  First  Motion  in  1833.  Increase  of  Evangelical 
Ministers.  The  Veto  in  1834.  Two  Solutions.  A  Falsehood 
in  the  Church.  Another  Way.  Sufferings  of  the  Church.  Pas- 
toral Relationship.  Argument  of  Chalmers.  An  Ignorant 
Christian.  Politicians  at  first  favor  the  Veto.  Its  Effects  -  -  293 

SECTION  IV. — AUCHTERARDER  AND  MARNOCH. 
A  strong  Opposition  formed.     Auchterarder  and  Mr.  Young.     An 
Enormity.    Marnoch  and  Mr.  Edwards.    Dr.  Candlish's  Motion. 
The  Sword  drawn.     Revivals.      Edwards  settled  at  Marnoch. 
The  Congregation  withdraws.     Feelings  of  Scotland         -        -  306 

SECTION  V. — THE  THIRD  REFORMATION. 

Dr.  Buchanan's  Motion.  Petitions.  Decision  of  the  Moderate 
Party.  25th  August.  Diplomatic  Negotiations.  Chalmers 
against  the  Encroachments  of  the  Civil  Courts.  Claim  of  Rights. 
A  Church  in  one  Day  _.-.-...  314 

SECTION  VI. — STRUGGLES  OF  THE  CHURCH  AND  STATE. 
Decision  of  the  House  of  Lords.     Scotland  prepares.     Convocation 
of  the  17th  November.     Address  to  the  People  of  Scotland.     An- 
swer of  the  Government.     Its  Mistake.     Appeal  of  Chalmers. 
Reply  of  the  People.    Decision  of  the  Commons         ....••«  320 

SECTION  VII. — THE  DISRUPTION. 

Dilemma.  18th  May  1843.  Concourse  of  People.  St.  Andrews. 
The  Protest.  The  Exodus.  Deputations 328 

SECTION  VIIL — THE  FREE  CHURCH. 

Cannon  Mills.  Chalmers,  first  Moderator  of  the  Free  Church. 
Deed  of  Demission.  Ministers  leave  their  Manses  and  Churches. 
Vital  Preaching.  Sites  for  the  Wilderness.  Efforts  of  the  Chris- 
tian People.  Six  Hundred  Churches.  Benmore  and  the  Free 
Church.  No  Recoil.  The  Procession,  Cannon,  &c.  &c.  -  -  339 

APPENDIX. 

Protestantism  in  the  German  Provinces  of  Russia         ...  349 
The  Lutherans  and  the  Moravians        ------  356 

Conversions  to  the  Greek  Church  -------  360 

The  Synod,  or  Peace    ---------  364 


GERMANY,  ENGLAND,  AND  SCOTLAND, 


PART   I. 
TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

I  HAVE  been  requested  to  give  some  account  of  the  jour- 
ney I  undertook  in  the  year  1845.  The  task  imposed  on  me 
is  not  easy :  for  on  the  one  hand  it  is  both  disagreeable  and 
perilous  to  speak  of  one's-self ;  while  on  the  other,  a  vague 
dissertation  filled  with  generalities  can  have  but  little  in- 
terest. I  am  thus  placed  between  two  shoals,  and  incur  the 
risk  of  being  either  ridiculous  or  dull :  1  will  do  all  in  my 
power  to  steer  clear  of  the  first,  but  I  cannot  promise  to  avoid 
the  second.  t 

My  journey  occupied  four  months,  which  were  divided, 
in  pretty  equal  portions,  among  three  countries, — England, 
Scotland,  and  Germany. 

These  three  nations  have  each  an  individual  character ; 
for  the  people  of  England  and  of  Scotland,  though  united 
under  the  same  government,  are  nevertheless  essentially 
different. 

I  might  easily  state  their  distinguishing  characteristics ; 
but  I  remember,  that  however  great  may  be  the  differences 
which  separate  nations,  that  which  they  have  in  common  is 
of  still  higher  importance.  All  are  alike  in  some  essential 


12  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

points,  and  participate  in  their  estrangement  from  that  God 
who  ought  to  be  the  centre  and  the  life  of  all.  It  may  be 
said  of  each  of  them,  "  The  people  weary  themselves  for 
very  vanity,"  (Hab.  ii.  13.):  and  also,  "There  is  neither  Jew 
nor  Greek,  in  Christ  Jesus."  All  nations  are  called  upon  to 
rise  and  look  forward  to  that  restoration  which  the  God-man 
came  to  bestow  upon  the  new  race  of  whom  He  was  made 
the  Saviour  and  the  King.  "  There  shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse," 
saith  the  prophet ;  "  to  it  shall  the  Gentiles  seek." 

The  human  race  may  be  compared  to  an  immense  temple 
ruined,  but  now  rebuilding,  the  numerous  compartments  of 
which  represent  the  several  nations  of  the  earth.  True,  the 
different  portions  of  the  edifice  present  great  anomalies ;  but 
yet  the  foundation  and  the  corner-stone  are  the  same.  All 
spring  from  the  same  level,  and  all  should  be  directed  to  the 
same  end.  The  walls  of  the  building  have  been  thrown 
down,  and  the  stones  scattered  by  a  great  earthquake ;  yet  a 
mighty  Architect  has  appeared,  and  his  powerful  hand  is 
gradually  raising  the  temple-walls.  The  only  difference  be- 
tween one  side  of  the  edifice  and  the  other  is,  that  here  the 
restoration  is  somewhat  farther  advanced,  while  there  it  is 
less  forward.  Alas  !  some  places  are  still  overgrown  with 
thorns,  where  not  a  single  stone  appears.  Yet  the  Great 
Architect  may  one  day  look  down  on  these  desolate  spots, 
and  there  the  building  may  suddenly  and  rapidly  spring  up, 
reaching  the  summit  long  before  those  lofty  walls  which  seem 
to  have  outgrown  the  others,  but  which  are  still  standing 
half-raised  and  incomplete.  "  The  last  shall  be  first." 

The  discriminating  features  of  the  several  families  of  man- 
kind, the  regenerating  principle  among  the  numberless  races 
of  the  earth,  do  not  consist  in  a  greater  or  less  proportion  of 
natural  talent,  in  different  degrees  of  political  advancement, 
or  in  closeness  of  attachment  to  their  ancient  national  tradi- 
tions. All  these  may  indeed  be  of  some  consequence ;  but 
the  essential  point  is  their  degree  of  participation  in  those 
heavenly  influences  which  alone  can  call  the  dead  mass  of 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

humanity  to  life ;  and  in  short,  their  interest  in  the  person 
and  work  of  the  Redeemer.  The  heathen  are  on  the  lowest 
steps ;  next  come  the  Moslem ;  then  those  Christian  nations 
most  unacquainted  with  the  doctrine  of  free  grace ;  and, 
lastly,  those  among  which  there  is  a  people  who  are  able  to 
say,  "The  foundation  is  Jesus  Christ."  The  evangelical  na- 
tions are  the  capital  of  humanity — a  capital,  alas !  still  mea- 
gre and  incomplete ! 

These  are  general  principles  that  we  must  not  lose  sight 
of  in  contemplating  the  three  countries  of  which  I  am  to 
speak, — England,  Scotland,  and  Germany.  The  worldly- 
minded  traveller  sees  little  but  diversities  and  contrasts :  the 
Christian  traveller  should  especially  notice  relations  and  iden- 
tities. I  may  add,  that  the  three  nations  I  have  mentioned 
are  perhaps  the  three  most  illustrious  branches  of  the  evan- 
gelical Christian  family.  These  pages  are  a  mark  of  the  af- 
fection I  bear  them ;  and  even  when  speaking  of  the  faults  I 
may  have  met  with,  my  doing  so  with  freedom  should  be 
regarded  as  an  additional  proof  of  my  love  and  esteem  for 
them. 

Nunquam  te  fallant  animi  sub  vulpe  latentes. 

Quinctilio  si  quid  recitares ;  Corrige,  sodes, 

Hoc,  aiebat,  et  hoc. 

Si  defendere  delictum,  quam  vertere,  malles : 

Nullum  ultra  verbum  aut  operam  insumebat  inanem, 

Quin  sine  rivali  teque  et  tua  solus  amares. 

HORAT.  ad  Pisones,  1.  437. 


CHAPTER    I. 

GERMANY. 

1.  Solitary  Life.  The  Scientific  and  the  Practical  Elements  in  the 
Church.  Transformation. — 2.  First  Movement.  Infidelity.  First 
Arrival  in  Germany.  Struggles.  Kiel  and  Kleuker.  Rieu.  E& 
ceeding  abundantly.  Deliverance.  Raitonalismus  vulgaris.  Eman- 
cipation of  Mind.  Hegel.  Orthodox  and  Heterodox  Tongues. 
Strauss.  His  Successors,  Bruno  Bauer,  Feuerbach,  Stirner.  Athe- 
ism. Materialism.  Oxford.  Friends  of  Light. — 3.  Faith.  Jubilee 
of  the  Reformation  in  1817.  Festival  of  the  Wartburg.  Revival  of 
Faith.  Practical  School.  A  Defect.  Doctrine  of  Election.  The 
Gospel  preached  to  the  Poor.  Scientific  School.  Its  Doctors.  Sym- 
bolical School.  Evangelical  Gazette.  Absolute  Conservatism.  Ec- 
clesiastical School.  The  Union.  The  Liturgy.  Lutheran  Move- 
ment. Silesia. — 4.  Second  Movement.  Christian  Societies.  Society 
of  Gustavus  Adolphus.  Assembly  of  Stutgard.  Universality  and 
Mixture.  The  two  great  Principles  of  Protestantism.  Different  Na- 
tionalities and  Christian  Catholicism.  Conservatives  and  Aggressives : 
Negatives  and  Positives :  Externals  and  Internals.  A  probable  Sepa- 
ration.— 5.  German  Churches.  A  slow  Passage  or  a  Leap.  Visit  to 
a  German  Theologian.  The  Foundation  of  the  Church.  The  Mind 
and  the  Body.  Radicalism  and  Conservatism.  Science  and  Life. 
The  State  and  the  Church.  The  Monarchical  and  the  Representa- 
tive Systems.  The  German,  the  Roman,  and  the  Genevese  Systems. 
An  Evening  at  Stolzenfels.  The  Inauguration.  The  King  of  Prus- 
sia.— 6.  German  Catholicism.  Manheim,  Heidelberg,  Stutgard.  Wor- 
ship. Catholicism,  Evangelism,  Morals.  Orthodox  Minority,  Ra- 
tionalist Majority.  Radical  Constitution.  Music  and  Repasts.  The 
true  Baptism  of  a  Church.  Probable  Futurity.  M.  Gervinus.  The 
Life  of  Faith.  Germany  stirs.  The  Vocation  of  a  People  Geneva. 

I. 

SOLITARY    LIFE. 

ON  leaving  Switzerland  my  course  lay  among  the  moun- 
tains of  the  Black  Forest,  where  I  visited  Konigsfeld,  a  little 


GERMANY.  15 

Moravian  congregation,  which  has  established  its  contempla- 
tive life,  its  quiet  manners,  and  its  pious  chants,  amid  that 
•wild  and  gloomy  scenery.  Even  this  is  characteristic  of  Ger- 
many. Thence  I  repaired  to  Heidelberg,  now  resuming  its 
place  as  a  centre  of  theological  science, — and  then  came 
down  the  Rhine. 

I  had  spent  six  years  in  Germany,  from  1817  to  1823,  first 
as  a  student,  afterwards  as  a  pastor,  and  I  can  never  revisit 
it  without  again  feeling  myself  among  the  friends  of  my  best 
years. 

The  German  has  several  features  which  distinguish  him  in 
a  striking  manner  from  the  Englishman  and  the  Scotchman. 
He  lives  within  himself ;  he  seems  born  for  the  ideal  world. 
His  faith,  when  he«has  any,  is  rather  in  his  head  than  in  his 
heart,  and  he  easily  loses  himself  in  mysticism.  He  feeds 
upon  the  ideal ;  he  seeks  out  the  first  principles  of  things, 
their  general  laws,  their  essence.  Systems  of  philosophy 
succeed  one  another  in  his  country  more  rapidly  than  forms 
of  government  with  the  people  most  changeable  in  politics. 

While  elsewhere  the  life  of  man  assumes  more  and  more 
a  public  character,  the  German  leads  a  solitary  existence. 
He  lives  in  his  study,  from  the  window  of  which,  late  and 
early,  the  light  of  his  lamp  is  seen  shining.  A  friend  of  mine, 
a  Frenchman  by  birth,  who  resides  in  a  university  town,  op- 
posite one  of  the  professors,  said  to  me,  "  That  is  a  singular 
man ;  I  really  do  not  know  when  he  sleeps ;  his  lamp  is 
always  burning !"  The  Germans  are  a  people  to  be  taken 
separately  and  singly ;  they  have  seldom  or  never  hitherto 
formed  into  groups  and  parties ;  and  it  may  be  said  of  Ger- 
many, as  regards  the  empire  of  thought,  what  the  Bible  said 
of  Israel  at  one  period,  with  regard  to  social  order — "In 
those  days  there  was  no  king,  but  every  man  did  that  which 
was  right  in  his  own  eyes." 

Germany,  although  some  may  think  the  contrary,  is,  in 
many  respects,  the  country  of  individualism;  the  church, 
therefore,  which  is  the  concentration  and  organization  of 


16  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

Christian  individuals,  is  yet  in  a  state  of  infancy.  One 
evening  last  summer,  being  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  German  theologians.,  who  had  invited  me  to 
meet  some  of  his  colleagues,  I  was  speaking  of  England  and 
Scotland,  which  I  had  just  left,  and  of  what  was  doing  there. 
My  entertainer,  who  listened  to  me  with  much  interest,  said, 
"  We  in  Germany  have  a  science,  but  we  have  no  Church." 
This  is  a  characteristic  remark. 

A  science  and  no  Church !  There  are,  in  fact,  two  ele- 
ments necessary  to  the  progress  of  Christianity — the  scien- 
tific and  the  practical.  If  the  development  of  the  latter  is 
the  task  God  has  imposed  upon  Britain,  where  ecclesiastical 
life  is  so  powerful,  the  development  of  the  former  has  fallen 
to  the  lot  of  Germany.  It  is  only  to  be  wished  that  she 
would  perform  it  with  more  respect  for  the  source  of  all 
science — the  Word  of  God. 

Hitherto  the  German  has  been  contented  to  live  alone  at 
his  ease,  among  his  own  ideas,  his  own  faith ;  perhaps  even, 
in  some  cases,  his  own  errors.  Faithful  to  the  character  of 
the  ancient  Germans,  he  seeks,  not  indeed  in  the  seclusion 
of  forests,  but  in  the  mysterious  depths  of  his  own  mind, 
some  undefined  divinity  which  he  worships.  Deorumque 
nominibus  appellant  secretum  illud,  quod  sola  reverentia  vi- 
dent.*  But  a  new  epoch  has  now  begun  :  throughout  Ger- 
many, individualities  are  tending  to  unite  and  form  into 
groups.  The  scattered  members  are  here  and  there  collect- 
ing into  a  body.  The  bones  are  gathering  together,  according 
to  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel ;  sinews  are  coming  upon  them, 
flesh  is  growing,  and  soon  they  will  stand  upon  their  feet, 
an  exceeding' great  army. 

It  is  interesting  to  watch  how  this  transformation  is  tak- 
ing place  in  Germany  ;  how,  from  isolated  existences,  she  is 
advancing  to  a  single  concentrated  existence.  It  is  a  re- 
markable phenomenon.  But  there  is  another  in  Germany 
still  more  so, — the  transformation,  in  which  faith  succeeds 
*  Tacit,  de  Mor.  Germ. 


GERMANY.  17 

unbelief.  This  phenomenon,  unhappily,  is  not  general ;  yet, 
though  there  are  beyond  the  Rhine  manifestations  of  infidel- 
ity more  striking  than  ever,  I  am  persuaded  that  the  move- 
ment towards  the  truth  will  be  stronger  still. 

There  are,  thus,  two  movements  in  Germany  which  I 
would  point  out.  In  the  first  the  opposite  poles  are  unbe- 
lief and  faith  ;  in  the  other,  individualism  and  the  Church. 


II. 

FIRST    MOVEMENT. INFIDELITY. 

MY  first  visit  to  Germany  was  in  1817,  immediately  after 
my  consecration  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word  of  God,  and 
with  the  design  of  studying  theology  for  a  longer  period  be- 
fore entering  upon  its  active  duties.  I  spent  some  time  as 
a  student  at  the  Universities  of  Leipsic  and  Berlin;  after- 
wards, four  years  in  Hamburg,  as  pastor  of  the  French 
church.  My  arrival  in  Germany  was  rendered  remarkable, 
by  a  circumstance  connected  with  my  inward  life.  I  was 
stunned — almost  overwhelmed,  by  the  tempest  of  rationalism 
and  infidelity  which  was  then  raging.  After  having  remained 
in  the  cheerless  principles  of  Unitarianism  until  nearly  the 
conclusion  of  my  studies  at  the  academy  of  Geneva,  I  had 
been  seized  by  the  Word  of  God.  I  had  believed  in  the 
divinity  of  the  Saviour,  in  original  sin,  the  power  of  which  I 
had  experienced  in  my  own  heart,  and  in  justification  by 
faith.  I  had  experienced  the  joys  of  the  new  birth.  I  was 
yet,  however,  weak :  I  was  willing  to  take  up  the  Cross  -of 
Christ ;  but  I  preferred  regarding  it  as  wisdom  rather  than 
foolishness.  It  was  at  this  time  that  I  arrived  in  Germany. 
Every  theological  journal  I  read,  every  book  I  looked  into, 
almost  every  one,  both  ministers  and  laymen,  whom  I  met, 
were  affected  with  Rationalism,  so  that  the  poison  of  infidel- 
ity was  presented  to  me  on  all  sides. 

I  then  entered  upon  a  fearful  spiritual  struggle,  defending 


18  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

with  my  whole  strength  my  still  feeble  faith,  yet  sometimes 
falling  under  the  blows  of  the  enemy.  I  was  inwardly  con- 
sumed. There  was  not  a  moment  in  which  I  was  not  ready 
to  lay  down  my  life  for  the  faith  I  professed ;  and  never  did 
I  ascend  the  pulpit  without  being  able  to  proclaim,  with 
fulness  of  faith,  salvation  by  Jesus.  But  scarcely  had  I 
left  it,  when  the  enemy  assailed  me  anew,  and  inspired  my 
mind  with  agonizing  doubts.  I  passed  whole  nights  with- 
out sleep,  crying  to  God  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  or 
endeavoring,  by  arguments  and  syllogisms  without  end,  to 
repel  the  attacks  of  the  adversary.  Such  were  my  combats 
during  those  weary  watchings,  that  I  almost  wonder  how  I 
did  not  sink  under  them. 

It  happened  at  this  time  (1819)  that  a  friend  of  mine,* 
settled  in  Paris,  was  on  the  point  of  visiting  Copenhagen, 
where  his  mother's  family  resided.  Another  friend  of  ours, 
Charles  Rieu,  was  the  pastor  of  Fredericia  in  Jutland.  We 
were  all  three  Genevese ;  we  had  studied  together  at  Geneva ; 
and  had  come  at  the  same  time  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  although  Rieu  had  outstripped  us  in  all  respects, 
especially  in  the  simplicity  of  his  faith  and  devotedness  to 
the  Lord.  We  agreed  to  travel  together  to  Copenhagen, 
and  to  meet  at  Kiel,  the  capital  of  Holstein. 

Kiel  is  a  German  university,  and  at  that  time  was  the 
residence  of  Kleuker,  one  of  the  oldest  champions  of  German 
divinity,  who  had  been  for  forty  years  defending  Christian 
revelation  against  the  attacks  of  infidel  theologians,  in  apolo- 
getic works  of  some  celebrity.  There  were  many  passages 
of  Scripture  which  stopped  me,  and  I  proposed  visiting 
Kleuker,  and  asking  him  to  explain  them,  hoping  by  this 
visit  to  be  delivered  from  my  agonizing  doubts. 

Accordingly  I  waited  on  Kleuker,  and  requested  that 
learned  and  experienced  Christian  to  elucidate  for  my  satis- 
faction many  passages  whence  some  of  his  countrymen  in  their 
writings  had  drawn  proofs  against  the  inspiration  of  Scripture 
.  *  The  Rev.  Frederic  Monod. 


GERMANY.  19 

and  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity.  The  old  doctor  would 
not  enter  into  any  detailed  solution  of  these  difficulties. 
"  Were  I  to  succeed  in  ridding  you  of  them,"  he  said  to  me, 
"  others  would  soon  arise  :  There  is  a  shorter,  deeper,  more 
complete  way  of  annihilating  them.  Let  Christ  be  really  to 
you  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour,  the  Author  of  Eternal 
Life.  Only  be  firmly  settled  in  his  grace,  and  then  these 
difficulties  of  detail  will  never  stop  you :  the  light  which 
proceeds  from  Christ  will  disperse  all  your  darkness." 

The  old  divine  had  shown  me  the  way :  I  saw  it  was  the 
right  one,  but  to  follow  it  was  a  hard  task.  God,  who  had 
already  revealed  to  me  the  glory  of  his  well-beloved  Son, 
did  not  forsake  me  ;  but  he  used  another  agency  to  bring  me 
to  the  mark  which  had  been  pointed  out. 

As  steam-boats  were  not  at  that  time  very  regular,  we  had 
to  wait  some  days  for  the  one  in  which  my  friends  and  I 
intended  proceeding  to  Copenhagen.  We  were  staying  at 
an  hotel,  and  used  to  spend  part  of  our  time  in  reading  the 
Word  of  God  together.  M.  Monod  and  I  chose  Rieu  for 
our  chaplain.  He  was  an  ear  of  corn  which  the  Lord  had 
early  brought  to  full  maturity,  and  which  was  soon  after 
carried  to  the  everlasting  garner.  Two  years  after,  I  wept 
over  his  grave,  amidst  his  desolate  flock,  with  whom  I  cele- 
brated the  death  of  the  Lord.  I  was  at  this  time  at  Kiel, 
enjoying  my  last  converse  with  this  much  esteemed  friend. 
We  all  three  communicated  to  each  other  our  thoughts  on 
reading  the  Word,  but  it  was  Rieu  who  most  abundantly 
brought  out  the  hidden  riches  of  the  Book  of  God. 

We  were  studying  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  and  had 
got  to  the  end  of  the  third  chapter,  when  we  read  the  two 
last  verses :  "  Now  unto  him  who  is  able  to  do  EXCEEDING 
ABUNDANTLY  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think,  according  to  the 
power  that  worketh  in  us,  unto  him  be  glory,"  &c.  This 
expression  fell  upon  my  soul  as  a  mighty  revelation  from 
God.  "  HE  can  do  by  His  power,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  above 
all  that  we  ask,  above  all  even  that  we  think,  nay,  EXCEEDING 


20  TRAVELLING   RECOLLECTIONS. 

ABUNDANTLY  above  all !"  A  full  trust  in  Christ  for  the  work 
to  be  done  within  my  poor  heart  now  filled  my  soul.  We 
all  three  knelt  down,  and,  although  I  had  never  fully  con- 
fided to  my  friends  my  inward  struggles,  (for  I  dared  not 
make  them  known  to  any  but  to  God  alone,)  the  prayer  of 
Rieu  was  filled  with  such  admirable  faith,  as  he  would  have 
uttered  had  he  known  all  my  wants.  When  I  arose,  in  that 
inn  room  at  Kiel,  I  felt  as  if  my  "  wings  were  renewed  as  the 
wings  of  eagles."  From  that  time  forward  I  comprehended 
that  my  own  syllogisms  and  efforts  were  of  no  avail ;  that 
Christ  was  able  to  do  all  by  his  "power  that  worketh  in  us;" 
and  the  habitual  attitude  of  my  soul  was  to  lie  at  the  foot  of 
the  Cross,  crying  to  Him,  "  Here  am  I,  bound  hand  and 
foot,  unable  to  move,  unable  to  do  the  least  thing  to  get 
away  from  the  enemy  who  oppresses  me.  Do  all  thyself. 
I  know  that  thou  wilt  do  it,  thou  wilt  even  do  exceeding 
abundantly  above  all  that  I  ask." 

I  was  not  disappointed.  All  my  doubts  were  soon  dis- 
pelled, and  not  only  was  I  delivered  from  that  inward  anguish 
which  in  the  end  would  have  destroyed  me,  had  not  God 
been  faithful ;  but  the  Lord  "  extended  unto  me  peace  like 
a  river."*  Then  I  could  "  comprehend  with  all  saints  what 
is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height ;  and  know 
the  love  of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge. "f  Then  was  I 
able  to  say,  "  Return  unto  thy  rest,  0  my  soul ;  for  the  Lord 
hath  dealt  bountifully  with  thee."J 

If  I  relate  these  things,  it  is  not  as  my  own  history — not 
the  history  of  myself  alone — but  of  many  pious  young  men, 
who  in  Germany,  and  even  elsewhere,  have  been  assailed  by 
the  raging  waves  of  Rationalism.  Many,  alas  !  have  made 
shipwreck  of  their  faith,  and  some  have  even  violently  put  an 
end  to  their  lives.  On  this  account  I  shall  always  remember 
the  words  of  Scripture,  "  Thou  hast  set  my  feet  in  a  large 
room."§  "  He  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord."|| 

*  Isaiah,  Ixvi.  12.  f  Ephes.  Hi.  18, 19.  $  Psalm,  cxvi.  7. 

§  Psalm,  xxxi.  8.  II  1  Cor.  i.  31. 


GERMANY.  21 

I  do  not  mean  to  describe  Rationalism  as  I  then  found  it 
in  Germany — that  rationalismus  vulgaris,  as  it  has  been 
called,  adopting  the  terminology  of  botany — that  edifice 
which  has  now  nothing  left  to  show  but  here  and  there  a 
crumbling  wall — that  unbelieving  world  in  which  two  doctors, 
who  are  still  living,  Paulus  of  Heidelberg,  and  Wegscheider 
of  Halle,  were  long  the  Fathers  of  the  infidel  church.  A 
celebrated  theologian  (now  indeed  too  celebrated  !)  has  al- 
ready done  this  in  a  work  which  we  are  happy  to  have  it  in 
our  power  to  praise.  I  refer  to  the  book  entitled  "  A  His- 
torical Inquiry  into  the  probable  Causes  of  the  Rationalist 
Character  lately  predominant  in  the  Theology  of  Germany, 
by  E.  B.  Pusey,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  Oriel  College,  Oxford. 
London,  1828." 

But  this  worn-out  Rationalism  has  been  succeeded  by  a 
new  one.  The  tree  is  withered ;  but  from  its  roots  has 
sprung  an  offshoot,  which  seems  likely  to  extend  its  branches 
still  farther  than  the  old  one.  I  will,  therefore,  say  a  few 
words  of  this  more  modern  Rationalism,  which  I  found  in 
Germany  at  the  time  of  my  journey  in  1845.  My  remarks 
will  be  a  short  supplement  to  the  work  of  the  celebrated 
divine  before  mentioned,  with  whom,  however,  I  would  in  no 
way  compare  myself.  I  know  not  whether,  during  his  resi- 
dence in  Germany  (which  as  to  time  corresponds,  I  think, 
with  my  own),  he  suffered,  like  me,  from  the  attacks  of  Ra- 
tionalism. If  such  was  the  case,  as  it  well  might  be,  Dr. 
Pusey,  I  presume,  made  his  escape  through  tradition ;  while 
I,  as  has  been  seen,  was  saved  by  the  Word  of  God.  The 
weaker  of  the  two  found  the  stronger  support. 

The  political  hopes  which  Germany  entertained  in  1813, 
1814,  and  1815,  having  been  disappointed,  and  the  religious 
movement  not  having  been  successful  in  renewing  the  church, 
the  more  serious  Germans  were  driven  back  upon  themselves. 
The  emancipation  of  the  state  and  the  church  having  failed, 
they  turned  to  the  emancipation  of  the  mind.  A  philos- 
opher (Hegel)  was  the  great  liberator.  He  sought  to  re- 


22  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

generate  the  people  by  the  most  profound  speculations. 
To  know,  instead  of  to  believe,  was  the  grand  principle  en- 
throned by  the  great  Gnostic  of  the  nineteenth  century  ;  and 
thus  he  arrived  at  three  great  denials, — the  denial  of  a  per- 
sona] God,  the  denial  of  a  personal  Christ,  and  the  denial 
of  the  personality  of  man  after  death. 

The  fundamental  principle  of  every  pantheistic  doctrine  is 
the  basis  of  Hegel's  religious  philosophy.  The  idea  of  a 
God  is,  according  to  him,  a  development,  by  virtue  of  which 
the  non-existent  becomes  a  being  (from  not  to  be,  to  be), 
from  non-ens  to  ens.*  We  do  not  find  in  the  system  of 
Hegel  the  historical  Christ,  the  God-man  of  the  Bible.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  the  appearance  of  God  in  the  flesh  took 
place  at  a  certain  time,  in  order  to  make  known  the  unity  of . 
the  divine  with  the  human  ;  in  order  that  the  finite  spirit 
(man)  might  recognize  his  unity  with  God,  and  know  that 
God  has  his  being  within  him. 

"  Christ  is  merely  the  first  who  acknowledged  in  himself 
this  unity  of  God  and  man,"  says  the  German  philosopher. 

"  A  man  must  believe  in  the  unity  of  God  and  man  in  the 
person  of  Christ,  in  order  that  he  may  recognize  the  same 
unity  within  himself. 

"  Christ  is  not  the  only  God-man,  he  is  not  even  so  in 
any  especial  manner.  The  idea  of  God-man  belongs  to  all 
mankind. 

"  There  is  a  universal  incarnation  of  God  which  does  not 
proceed  from  Christ,  and  which  renders  all  men  essentially 
equal  to  Christ." 

Such  is  Hegel's  Christology. 

This  philosopher,  however,  did  not  pretend  to  substitute 
philosophy  for  religion.  He  knew,  as  a  recent  writer  ob- 
served, that  in  a  time  of  famine,  a  dissertation  upon  the  or- 
gans and  process  of  digestion  will  satisfy  nobody's  hunger. 
But  the  disciples  have  done  what  the  master  could  not  ac- 
complish. 

*  Ein  sich  Entwickeln  von  Nicht  seyn  zu  Seyn. 


GERMANY.  23 

He  formed  two  principal  schools  ;  that  on  the  right  hand, 
which  drew  nearer  to  Christianity,  and  that  on  the  left, 
which  rushed  into  a  vulgar  pantheism,  dressed  up  in  a  few 
scientific  terms ;  or,  as  these  two  parties  have  been  called, 
the  orthodox  and  the  heterodox  tongues.  Every  adept  of 
the  latter  might  now  be  seen  endeavoring  to  exalt  his  own 
personality  (his  ego)  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  personality  (the 
ego)  of  the  Divine  Being.  Each  would  dethrone  God  to 
make  a  god  of  himself,  and  each  presents  to  us  as  the  ul- 
timate expression  of  Christianity  and  of  Protestantism,  the 
dreams  of  ancient  Paganism,  or  of  some  obscure  sects  of  the 
middle  ages. 

The  doctrines  of  Hegel  found  at  first  but  few  adherents 
among  the  youth  of  the  German  universities.  It  was  too 
profound  for  the  majority  of  intellects ;  but  his  disciples 
soon  tried  to  vulgarize  it.  The  mystical  lucubrations  drawn 
from  the  deep  abysses  of  the  Berlin  professor  were  dispersed 
abroad  in  a  thousand  different  channels, — in  pamphlets, 
newspapers,  ladies'  books,  novels,  and  poetry.  Its  followers 
did  for  Hegelism  in  Germany,  what  is  doing  for  Puseyism  in 
England,  and  it  soon  became  the  gospel  of  the  day.* 

Strauss  was  the  most  powerful  promoter  of  this  pantheis- 
tical gospel.  Though  the  notion  of  sin  had  wholly  disap- 
peared from  the  new  German  theology,  there  still  remained 
some  faint  traces  at  least  of  the  doctrine  of  redemption.  In 
Strauss  not  a  glimpse  of  it  is  left.  "  The  whole  evangelical 
history  is  one  great  myth — an  allegory,  the  meaning  of 
which  is  to  be  sought  out.  The  Christ  of  the  Gospel  is," 
according  to  Strauss,  "  the  produce  of  the  monotheist  super- 
naturalism  of  the  Jewish  nation.  Here  arises  a  dilemma. 
Either  this  Christ  Jesus  is  a  miracle,  that  is  to  say,  a  contra- 
diction, or  else  he  has  never  existed.  The  latter  supposition 
alone  is  admitted  by  the  mythological  Christology.  Hu- 
manity is  the  Christ  in  which  God  incessantly  makes  him- 
self flesh." 

*  Der  Deutche  Protestantismus,  p.  193. 


24  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

The  work  of  Strauss  popularized  the  ideas  which  might, 
perhaps,  have  remained  within  the  boundaries  of  science ; 
and  a  crowd  of  idle  young  men  rashly  yielded  to  these  fatal 
illusions.  Strauss  possessed,  at  least,  science,  method,  criti- 
cal skill,  and  a  real  talent  for  exposition.  All  these  were 
now  neglected.  The  essential  object  was  to  bring  forward 
something  strange  and  startling,  and  thus  gain  both  reputa- 
tion and  money.  Wider  and  wider  spread  the  opinions  of 
the  youthful  pantheist,  the  author  of  a  work  on  the  Rehabi- 
litation of  the  Flesh,  who  exclaimed,  that  if  the  world  had 
never  heard  of  God  it  would  have  been  very  happy,  and 
would  peaceably  have  enjoyed  the  intoxication  of  life !  "  The 
fool  hath  said  in  his  heart  there  is  no  God." 

They  had  gone  very  far,  but  the  limit  was  not  yet  reached. 
The  German  youth — I  mean  those  who  were  grouped  around 
these  doctors — were  hurrying  down  a  steep  descent  which 
terminated  in  the  abyss  of  atheism.  This  they  quickly 
reached,  nay,  even  rushed  beyond  it.  Then  began  in  Ger- 
many a  fearful  race  of  intellects,  each  striving  to  outdo  the 
other  in  impiety.  Scarcely  had  one  of  these  rebellious  spir- 
its reached  a  certain  stage  of  irreligion,  when  another  started 
off  to  outrun  him,  and  assert  falsities  still  more  diabolical. 
Strauss  had  stripped  Christianity  of  every  positive  and  his- 
torical element.  Bruno  Bauer,  a  theologian  likewise,  went 
still  farther.  He  stigmatized  the  "  theology  of  the  heart," 
the  pectoral  theology  as  he  called  it,  and  exposed  what  he 
termed  the  theological  shamelessnesses  or  indecencies  (scham- 
losigkeiten) ;  and,  rejecting  Christianity  altogether,  held  it 
up  to  the  ridicule  of  his  countrymen. 

A  general  idea  of  religion  still  remained.  But  then  came 
forward  Feuerbach,  another  of  those  champions  of  impiety, 
who  undertook  to  deliver  his  nation  from  the  "  illusion  of 
religion."  And  scarcely  had  the  wretched  man  arrived  at 
this  pitch  of  atheism,  when  he  was  overtaken  by  another 
still  bolder  than  himself,  Max  Stirner,  who,  as  he  passed  on, 
jeered  at  him,  calling  him  a  priest  (Pfaffen),  a  superstitious 


GERMANY.  25 

man,  seeing  that  he  had  allowed  one  idol  to  subsist : — the  love 
of  mankind!  "Down,"  he  cries,  "down  with  this  supersti- 
tion also  !  Egoism,  selfishness  !  that  is  all  that  is  left.  Be- 
hold the  supreme  ruler  of  the  world  !"  All  these  forms  of 
impiety  have  thus  devoured  each  other.  Anti-christianism 
has  been  swallowed  up  by  atheism,  and  this  in  its  turn  by 
egoism.  This  Satanic  principle  has  asserted  itself  to  be  the 
ultimate  expression  of  human  wisdom,  These  are  "  clouds 
without  water,  carried  about  of  winds ;  raging  waves  of  the 
sea,  foaming  out  their  own  shame :  wandering  stars,  to  whom 
is  reserved  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever." 

Thus  Germany  has  exhibited  within  these  last  few  years  a 
terrible,  yet  no  doubt  a  salutary  spectacle.  The  great  lesson 
to  be  derived  from  it  is  to  yield  nothing  when  the  truth  of 
God  is  concerned.  If  we  take  but  one  step  backwards,  we 
give  the  first  impulse  to  go  a  hundred,  a  thousand,  and  we 
know  not  what  will  be  the  end. 

Infidelity  in  Germany  has  not  been  confined  to  a  few  ob- 
scure writers,  obliged  to  hide  themselves  in  some  corner,  and 
reduced  to  communicate  their  blasphemies  to  a  small  number 
of  contemptible  adepts.  Such  may  be  the  case  in  England, 
but  it  is  far  otherwise  in  Germany.  These  men  have  been 
listened  to  with  favor  by  the  most  cultivated  classes.  In  the 
course  of  the  summer  while  I  was  in  Germany  (1845),  a 
great  meeting  of  German  writers,  for  the  most  part  infidel, 
was  held  at  Leipsic ;  and  there,  one  Mr.  Jordan,  of  Konigs- 
berg,  at  a  dinner  of  these  literary  men,  proposed  a  toast  to 

The  Atheists! I  will  not  repeat  the  terms, 

their  impiety  makes  me  shudder :  an  icy  coldness  and  dead 
silence  pervaded  the  assembly. 

This  modern  impiety  of  Germany  has  been  accompanied 
by  great  immorality ;  and  as  faith  is  manifested  by  works  of 
charity,  so  does  atheism  show  itself  by  the  grossest  material- 
ism. The  young  German  generation  have  declared  in  one 
of  their  organs  that  "  They  will  be  free,  throw  off  as  oppres- 
sive bonds  all  laws  of  civil  order,  of  ecclesiastical  and  re- 

2 


26  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ligious  institutions,  and  finally  emancipate  themselves  from 
the  yoke  of  moral  principles."* 

It  is  whispered  that  a  Young  German  party,  forming  at 
Oxford,  is  desirous  of  planting  in  England  the  doctrines  of 
Hegel  and  of  Strauss.  I  do  not  know  the  opinions  of  that 
new  school ;  'but  if  it  belong  to  the  modern  German  philos- 
ophy, it  is  easy  to  see  the  course  it  will  follow,  and  whither 
it  will  lead  England.  Oxford  would  thus  pass  from  the  ex- 
treme of  superstition  and  formality  (Puseyism)  to  the  extreme 
of  unbelief  and  materialism.  I  trust  that  British  good  sense, 
— the  practical  sense  of  Englishmen, — will  confine  these  fol- 
lies to  a  few  men  in  a  few  colleges.  Yet,  let  us  beware. 
Of  all  countries  Germany  is  undoubtedly  the  one  in  which 
these  monstrosities  spring  up  most  easily,  and  where  they 
show  themselves  most  openly.  But  if  all  the  friends  of 
Christian  religion  and  morality  do  not  increase  in  decision, 
holiness,  and  zeal,  we  may  perhaps  see  them  raising  their 
heads  in  every  quarter. 

The  "  Friends  of  Light"  appear  to  be  a  mixture  of  the 
old  rationalism  and  the  new.  The  opinions  I  have  hitherto 
described  are  more  or  less  individual :  but  the  societies  of 
the  Friends  of  Light  are  associations  of  infidelity.  Ration- 
alism has  been  confined  as  yet  to  theological  schools ;  it  is 
now  descending  among  the  people.  Since  1841  conferences 
have  been  held,  under  the  banner  of  infidelity,  especially  in 
Saxony  and  Saxon  Prussia,  composed  of  ministers,  school- 
masters, clerks,  and  tradesmen.  By  degrees  these  confer- 
ences have  become  popular  assemblies.  One  of  their  chief 
leaders  is  the  Pastor  Wislicenus,  who  once  said,  "Why 
should  not  Jesus  be  the  Son  of  God?  I  too  am  his  son!" 
Some  have  protested  against  Wislicenus,  others  have  de- 
clared in  his  favor :  the  dispute  is  not  yet  decided. 

All  these  manifestations  have  met  in  Germany  with  a 
vigorous  resistance,  of  which  I  must  now  say  a  few  words. 

*  Der  Deutche  Protestantismus,  p.  200. 


GERMANY.  27 

III. 

FAITH. 

WHEN  I  arrived  in  Germany  in  1817  a  great  movement 
was  preparing  among  the  people. 

They  were  hastening  as  one  man  to  celebrate  the  third 
centenary  jubilee  of  the  Reformation.  From  this  epoch 
may  be  dated  the  revival  of  the  church,  the  third  reforma- 
tion of  Germany,  if  we  may  regard  the  revival  in  the  time 
of  Spener,  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  as  the 
second. 

At  Frankfort  I  first  learnt  how  important  the  moment  was 
which  I  had  selected  for  visiting  this  learned  land.  I  was 
informed  that  all  the  youth  of  the  German  Universities  were 
to  meet  at  the  castle  of  Wartburg  some  days  before  the  ju- 
bilee, to  celebrate  the  memory  of  Luther.  I  travelled  night 
and  day  to  arrive  there  in  time ;  and  at  eight  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  festival,  I  was  set  down  with  a  friend  in  the 
great  square  of  Eisenach,  at  the  foot  of  the  Wartburg.  A 
crowd  of  students,  dressed  in  the  oddest  costumes,  filled  the 
place.  I  took  part  in  the  proceedings,  for  my  designation 
of  Genevese  student  immediately  opened  to  me  the  gates  of 
that  old  castle  in  which  the  Reformation  had  been  held  cap- 
tive in  the  person  of  its  principal  leader.  But,  alas !  what 
called  forth  the  enthusiasm  of  these  young  men  was  far  less 
the  faith  of  Luther  than  the  reveries  of  demagogues.  As 
for  me,  I  beheld  only  the  monk  of  Worms  within  the  place 
of  his  captivity,  and  the  idea  of  the  reformer  took  a  power- 
ful hold  of  my  mind.  I  attended  divine  service  in  the  church 
of  Eisenach,  and  afterwards  celebrated  at  Leipsic  the  festi- 
val of  the  jubilee  itself.  Wherever  I  went,  memorials  of 
the  Reformation  welcomed  me,  the  bells  rang  out  merrily, 
troops  of  students  were  singing,  and  the  people  were  rejoic- 
ing :  it  was  then  I  formed  the  design  of  writing  the  history 
of  that  great  renovation. 


28  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

The  thoughts  of  the  German  people,  and  especially  of  the 
ministers,  being  thus  forcibly  carried  back  to  the  ancient 
paths,  to  the  writings  of  Luther,  and  to  the  Bible  itself, 
found  therein  truth  and  life.  One  of  those  who  contributed 
more  than  others  to  this  movement  was  Claud  Harms,  the 
celebrated  Archdeacon  of  Kiel,  who  published  ninety-five 
theses  against  Rationalism,  as  an  appendix  to  those  of  Lu- 
ther against  the  Papacy.  I  frequently  saw  him  during  the 
time  of  my  ministry  at  Hamburg.  He  is  one  of  the  most 
respected  leaders,  of  what  I  shall  call  the  Practical  school, 
but  which  in  Germany  is  termed  (incorrectly  as  I  think)  the 
Pietist  party. 

Faith,  which  had  appeared  to  slumber,  and  even  to  have 
died  away  in  Germany,  now  revived  among  both  people  and 
ministers,  in  universities  and  in  courts.  Believers  were,  no 
doubt,  in  a  minority,  but  this  minority  was  sufficient  to  make 
rationalism  tremble. 

There  were,  perhaps,  some  imperfections  in  this  faith, 
which  has  been  ever  since  increasing.  Two  elements  con- 
stitute Christian  piety ;  the  vital  knowledge  of  the  sin  of 
man,  and  of  the  grace  of  God.  Now,  the  former  of  these 
elements  is,  perhaps,  in  Germany,  more  powerful  than  the 
latter.  The  cause  of  this,  in  part  at  least,  is,  that  while  the 
doctrine  of  innate  corruption  is  frequently  brought  forward, 
that  of  election  by  grace  is  either  unknown  or  disputed. 

In  this  respect  Germany  is  unfaithful  to  herself.  Not 
only  does  the  Lutheran  Church  in  its  ancient  articles  affirm, 
as  decidedly  as  any  other,  the  absolute  incapacity  of  the 
natural  man,  but  also  most  faithfully  declares  the  free  elec- 
tion of  God.  This  election  it  regards  not  merely  as  a  gen- 
eral decree,  but  as  a  choice  which  applies  individually  to 
every  one  of  the  elect.*  It  is  not  the  mere  foreknowledge 
of  God, — that  foreknowledge  is  extended  to  all  creatures, 

*  Deus  illo  suo  auxilio  non  tantum  in  genere  salutem  suorum  procu- 
ravit,  verum  etiam  omnes  et  singulas  personas  electorum  clementer  prses- 
civit,  ad  salutem  elegit,  et  decrevit,  &c.  Formula  Concordise,  p.  603. 


GERMANY.  29 

says  the  Formula  of  Concord, — but  it  is  a  predestination 
which  appertains  only  to  the  children  of  God.*  This  elec- 
tion not  only  foresees  salvation,  but  is  itself  the  cause  of  it, 
and  procures  salvation  with  all  things  necessary  thereto. f 
It  manifests  and  confirms,  in  an  absolute  and  unexceptiona- 
ble manner,  that  salvation  is  through  grace,  and  that  we  are 
justified  without  any  merit  on  our  part,  only  for  the  sake  of 
Christ,  since  we  were  elected  in  Christ  unto  eternal  salvation 
according  to  the  counsel  of  God,  before  the  creation  of  the 
world,  and  while  we  were  unable  to  do  any  thing  good.J 
As  salvation  thus  rests  upon  the  eternal  decrees  of  God,  it 
is  therefore  infallible,  "  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  pre- 
vail against  it."§ 

These  are  the  tenets  of  the  Lutheran  church,  which  are 
misunderstood,  and  even  opposed  by  most  of  her  minis- 
ters and  doctors. \  Happening,  therefore,  in  1845,  to  be, 
with  one  of  the  principal  theologians  of  Germany,  (if  he  is 
not,  indeed,  the  first,)  I  told  him,  that  Calvinist  as  I  was,  I 
was  more  of  a  Lutheran  than  the  Lutherans  themselves ;  and 
that  I  did  not  think  there  were  three  sincere  Lutherans  in  all 
Germany.  He  smiled ;  but  I  well  remember,  he  did  not 
deny  my  assertion. 

This  forgetfulness  of  the  elective  grace  of  God  has  been 
most  hurtful  to  Germany,  and  is  one  cause  of  the  weakness, 
the  hesitation,  and  the  disorders  which  prevail  there.  The 
doctrine  of  election  by  grace  is  necessary  to  the  strength 
and  the  stability  of  faith.  We  would  therefore  desire  that, 

*  Prescientia  ad  omnes  creaturas  extenditur.  jEterna  vere  electio 
seu  prsedestinatio  Dei  ad  salutem  tantum  ad  filios  Dei  pertinet.  P.  C. 
p.GlO. 

•f  Electio  Dei  est  causa  ipsorum  salutis.  Eorum  salutem  disponit, 
procurat,  efficit,  juvat,  promovet,  &c.  F.  C.  pp.  475 — 611. 

^  Cum  quidem  nihil  boni  agere  adhuc  poteramus,  secundum  proposi- 
tum  Dei  in  Christo,  ad  ffiternarn  salutem  electi  sumus.  F.  C.  p.  618. 

§  Super  hanc  Dei  prsdestinationem  salus  nostra  ita  fundata  est,  ut 
infernorum  ports  earn  evertere  nequeant.  F.  C.  p.  475. 

I!  See  especially  Kollner's  Symbolik. 


30  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

on  this  point,  Germany  should  retrace  her  steps ;  that  she 
should  believe  as  her  fathers  believed,  and  as  she  ought  still 
to  believe.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Stand  ye  in  the  ways, 
and  see,  and  ask  for  the  old  paths,  where  is  the  good  way, 
and  walk  therein,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls." 

Yet,  notwithstanding  this  defect  in  German  piety,  as  re- 
vived during  the  last  thirty  years,  it  must  be  owned  that  it 
has  displayed  a  salutary  influence.  The  rationalist  clergy 
had  abandoned  the  common  people  :  evangelical  piety  turned 
towards  them.  It  remembered  that  through  Jesus  "  the 
poor  have  the  Gospel  preached  unto  them :"  and  this  it  did. 
At  the  epoch  of  the  Reformation,  the  movement  in  Germany 
was  too  little  felt  among  the  people.  Ministers,  men  of  let- 
ters, nobles,  and  princes,  took  the  principal  parts  in  it.  This 
cannot  be  said  of  the  present  time.  Faith  has  descended  to 
the  lower  ranks  of  the  nation,  opened  her  arms  to  the  lowly 
and  the  wretched,  and  quickened  them  by  her  holy  embraces. 
There  are  few  countries  of  Christendom,  perhaps  not  one,  in 
which  the  Gospel  has  been  brought  down  to  the  simple,  and 
received  by  the  poor  as  in  Germany.  This  is  our  trust,  when 
we  behold  the  storm  with  which  these  pernicious  doctrines 
threaten  that  country. 

Faith  is  not  the  only  principle  which  has  withstood  infi- 
delity in  Germany ;  science  and  theology  have  also  come 
forward,  and  fearful  struggles  have  for  some  time  past  been 
going  on.  Several  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  the  German 
universities  have  been  of  opinion  that  it  was  the  duty  of  sci- 
ence to  establish  and  fortify  that  faith,  which  science  had 
shaken  and  almost  annihilated,  and  they  set  themselves  cour- 
ageously to  the  task.  Xeander,  Nitzsch,  Ullmann,  Tholuck, 
Hundeshagen,  and  many  more,  have  marched  forward,  and 
are  still  pressing  on  towards  this  object  by  different  roads. 
In  this  learned  school  some  of  the  doctrines  upon  inspiration 
are  rather  lax  ;  they  still  incline  a  little  through  exegesis  to- 
wards rationalism,  and  a  few  of  the  sad  consequences  of  this 
system  are  now  evident.  But  we  find  in  these  illustrious 


GERMANY.  31 

men  a  real  faith  in  Christ,  and  an  efficacy  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
working  in  them  and  by  them.  They  may  be  called,  and  I 
think  they  call  themselves,  Rational  Believers.  One  of  their 
chief  characteristics  is  their  opposition  to  a  faith  determined 
and  limited  by  confession  and  creed ;  or,  at  least,  if  they 
should  admit  a  confession  of  faith,  it  will  not  be  that  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  They  would  draw  up  their  own,  setting- 
out  from  this  principle,  that  a  confession  of  faith  should 
represent  the  expression  of  evangelical  piety,  and  reject  the 
more  positive  determinations  of  theology. 

The  march  of  these  learned  Christians  towards  the  re- 
establishment  of  faith  is  but  slow.  They  have  indeed  to 
combat  a  multitude  of  prejudices,  which  the  rationalist  pe- 
riod has  left  upon  the  German  soil ;  but  there  are  none  of 
those  difficulties  which  their  system  is  unprepared  to  con- 
sider and  to  resolve.  They  do  not  content  themselves  with, 
sneering  at  the  doctrines  of  their  adversaries,  as  superficial 
theologians  too  often  have  done  ;  they  endeavor  to  compre- 
hend and  refute  them,  and  to  convince  those  who  profess 
them.  Yet  the  numerous  individuals  who  compose  this  lib- 
eral school  vary  in  many  respects  from  each  other ;  and  it  is 
somewhat  difficult  to  class  them  in  the  same  category.  All 
are  acquainted  with  the  historical  writings  of  Neander,  who, 
looking  back  over  every  age,  skilfully  seeks  and  discovers  a 
living  Christianity  in  them  all.  The  System  of  Christian 
doctrine  by  Nitzsch  is  a  profound,  vigorous,  concise  theology, 
where  Christian  faith  and  Christian  life  combine  in  most  per- 
fect harmony.*  By  the  means  of  Tholuck,  God  has  turned 
the  most  numerous  and  the  most  infidel  of  the  German  uni- 
versities into  a  school  of  prophets ;  while  the  exegetical 
writings  of  this  learned  man  place  him,  with  Olshausen,  now 
deceased,  at  the  head  of  German  theologians.  Ullmann  en- 
ters with  science,  intelligence,  and  vigor,  into  all  the  ques- 

*  I  do  not  mean  that  I  agree  in  all  points  with  this  excellent  book, 
particularly  with  the  sentiments  expressed  by  the  author  in  the  chapters 
upon  Election  and  Reconciliation,  pp.  251.  261.  266.  269.  (4th  edition.) 


32  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

tions  of  the  day ;  and  his  work  upon  the  Impeccability  or 
Anamartesis*  of  Christ,  is  the  best  contribution  of  modern 
times  to  apologetic  literature.  Hundeshagen  has  lately 
joined  this  learned  phalanx ;  and  by  his  excellent  work  on 
German  Rationalism  has  greatly  moved  all  Germany,  and 
opened  up  new  ways  for  her. 

Above  this  Scientific  school  we  find  the  Symbolical  and 
the  Ecclesiastical  schools.  Although  distinct,  yet  they  ap- 
proach each  other,  and  seem  to  be  gradually  intermingling. 

The  former  of  these,  the  Symbolical  School,  of  which 
Hengstenberg  of  Berlin  is  the  representative,  and  to  which 
Twesten  and  some  others  belong,  holds  essentially  to  the 
creeds,  the  confessions  of  faith  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
the  orthodoxy  of  the  Reformation.  It  is,  in  our  opinion  at 
least,  more  pure  than  the  preceding  school,  both  in  its  prin- 
ciples on  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  and  also  in  its 
doctrines.  «Hengstenberg  is  known  by  his  remarkable  writ- 
ings on  the  Old  Testament ;  but  his  principal  weapon  is  the 
famous  Evangelical  Gazette,  which  he  has  edited  at  Berlin 
ever  since  1827.  This  periodical,  which  appears  twice  a 
week,  was  at  first  essentially  a  paper  for  edification ;  but  it 
has  become,  especially  since  1830,  an  ecclesiastical  and  the- 
ological journal,  and  from  it  have  proceeded  the  most  vigor- 
ous blows  which  have  been  dealt  against  both  the  old  and 
the  new  rationalism.  Never,  perhaps,  has  any  periodical 
been  such  an  object  of  fear  and  hatred.  Dr.  Hengstenberg 
presides  at  Berlin  as  a  mighty  champion, — he  deals  his 
blows  to  the  right  and  to  the  left ;  they  may  not  always  be 
kept  within  due  measure  ;  but  Christian  truth,  being  at- 
tacked by  so  great  a  multitude  of  different  enemies  as  it  is 
in  Germany,  to  make  head  against  them  requires  one  of 
those  powerful  characters,  whose  very  strength  occasionally 
leads  them  into  excess.  Perhaps,  also,  Hengtensberg  is 
not  free  from  the  fault  which  absolute  Conservatives  are 
liable  to  commit.  Seeing  that  his  adversaries  would  destroy 


GERMANY.  33 

every  thing,  he  would  preserve  every  thing.  The  constitu- 
tional government  of  Lutheranism  is  very  defective  ;  the 
domination  of  the  state  over  the  church  is  carried  to  a  height 
in  Germany  which  shocks  even  moderate  Erastians.  But  it 
would  seem  that  Hengstenberg  beholds  a  great  dilemma  pre- 
sented to  his  church  : — her  present  condition,  or  the  reign 
of  the  Friends  of  Light, — all  to  be  kept,  or  all  to  be  lost ; 
and  however  ready  to  acknowledge  what  would  be  an  im- 
provement in  the  proposed  change,  he  would  rather  keep  all 
as  it  is  than  risk  any  essential  point.  There  is  not  in  Ger- 
many a  name  so  hateful  to  the  world  as  that  of  Hengsten- 
berg ;  but  posterity  will  do  him  more  justice,  and  even 
already,  decided  Christians  in  every  country,  and  foreigners 
in  particular,  make  him  amends  by  their  esteem,  for  the  nu- 
merous attacks  which  he  is  continually  forced  to  endure. 

If  the  symbolical  school  has  been  formed  in  opposition 
to  rationalism  in  every  degree,  the  ecclesiastical  school  pro- 
ceeds especially  from  an  opposition  to  the  union  of  the  two 
churches,  (the  Lutheran  and  the  Reformed,)  provoked  by 
the  late  King  of  Prussia. 

This  union,  commenced  at  the  time  of  the  jubilee  of  the 
Reformation  in  1817,  was  almost  completed  at  the  jubilee 
of  the  Augsburg  Confession  in  1830.  It  met  at  first  with 
great  opposition ;  and  the  saying  of  Madame  de  Stael  is 
well  known  :  "  It  is  two  corpses  embracing."  If  the  living 
faith,  which  was  then  reviving  in  the  church,  and  which,  by 
drawing  both  the  Lutherans  and  the  Reformed  nearer  to 
Christ,  brought  them  nearer  to  each.other,  rendered  this 
union  more  easy  to  some,  it  must  be  owned  that  most  of  the 
ministers  and  churches  united,  because  rationalism  had 
swept  away  not  only  the  doctrines  which  separated  the  two 
communions,  but  many  of  still  greater  importance.  How 
could  they  dispute  on  the  manner  of  communicating  in  the 
Lord's  Supper  with  the  body  of  Christ,  when  they  no  longer 
believed  that  Christ  "  gave  his  life  a  ransom  for  many,"  and 
even  regarded  his  resurrection  as  a  fable  ? 
2* 


84  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

A  powerful  reaction,  however,  soon  took  place,  more  es- 
pecially among  the  Lutherans.  They  not  only  found  doc- 
trines still  dear  to  many,  more  or  less  compromised,  but 
they  were  also  shocked  with  the  manner  in  which  the  union 
was  accomplished.  The  united  church  needed  a  common 
form  of  worship ;  but  as  committees  composed  of  divines 
could  not  come  to  an  understanding  on  that  point,  the  king 
himself  undertook  (in  1822)  to  compose,  with  the  help  of 
his  aide-de-camp,  a  Liturgy,  or  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
This  was  truly  cutting  the  knot  with  the  sword  of  Alexan- 
der. At  first  the  liturgy  was  imposed  by  the  king  only  upon 
the  chapel  royal  and  the  garrison  chapels ;  it  was  merely 
recommended  to  the  rest  of  the  churches.  Upon  this  a  most 
animated  controversy  arose ;  some  finding  the  liturgy  too 
orthodox,  others  not  orthodox  enough  ;  some  thinking  it  too 
Romish,  others  too  Reformed.  Many  discovered  a  political 
element  in  it  which  ought  to  be  foreign  to  the  church. 

Meanwhile  the  government  persevered  in  its  design,  using 
alternately  promises  and  threats  to  get  its  prayer-book  ac- 
cepted. Some  writers  asserted  that  the  king  had  a  right  to 
impose  his  book  upon  all  the  churches,  by  virtue  of  the  ter- 
ritorial system,  which  considers  church  government  as  ap- 
pertaining to  the  functions  of  the  civil  power;  so  that  the 
prince  exercises  this  government  in  his  temporal  capacity, 
like  any  other  branch  of  his  sovereign  authority,  and  with- 
out being  in  any  manner  bound  by  the  opinion  of  the  church. 
While  such  principles  were  boldly  professed,  an  outcry 
arose  in  Germany,  not  so  much  against  the  union  as  in  fa- 
vor of  the  liberty  of  the  church  ;  and  it  is  to  the  honor  of 
the  famous  Dr.  Schleiermacher,  professor  of  Theology  at 
Berlin,  that  he  courageously  opposed  the  subjection  of  the 
church  to  the  civil  power.  An  ecclesiastical  commission 
was  appointed,  a  new  revisal  of  the  liturgy  was  made  in 
1829,  and  peace  was  gradually  restored. 

But  if  opposition  on  this  head  had  ceased,  it  was  to  arise 
with  fresh  strength  on  doctrinal  points.  The  doctrine  of  the 


GERMANY.  35 

real  presence,  or  consubstantiation,  again  found  enthusiastic 
partisans.  It  was  in  Silesia  especially  that  this  strictly 
Lutheran  movement  began.  When  the  church  of  Breslau 
accepted  the  liturgy,  and  entered  into  the  union,  Professor 
Scheibel  opposed  it,  and  rejected  the  union  as  being  an  al- 
liance of  Christ  and  Belial.  A  purely  Lutheran  church 
formed  itself  around  him. 

Doubtless  there  was,  and  is  yet,  something  narrow  and 
exclusive  in  the  Lutheran  spirit.  In  the  eyes  of  these  doc- 
tors, the  sacraments  administered  in  the  Reformed  church 
are  no  sacraments  at  all.  Still  they  had  a  right  to  religious 
liberty  as  well  as  others  ;  and  its  refusal  is  greatly  to  be  de- 
plored. 

An  enthusiasm  in  favor  of  ancient  Lutheranism  spread 
over  Silesia  and  Thuringia  ;  in  the  former  country  persecu- 
tion soon  began,  and  pastors  were  suspended  and  deprived. 
When  the  government  endeavored  to  establish  the  liturgy  at 
Honigern,  the  whole  congregation  met  on  the  Sunday  morn- 
ing round  the  church,  and  began  to  sing  hymns,  and,  stand- 
ing close  together,  these  faithful  Lutherans  prevented  the 
government  officials  from  entering  the  building,  without 
resorting  to  violence.  In  several  places  the  magistracy 
had  recourse  to  arms  to  introduce  its  liturgy.  It  was  a 
pious  prince,  Frederic  William  III.,  who  allowed  himself  to 
proceed  to  such  extremities!  The  present  king,  in  1845, 
granted  full  liberty  to  the  ancient  Lutherans. 

This  party  still  possesses  great  strength,  and  is  chiefly 
represented  by  Dr.  Harless,  formerly  of  Erlangen,  now  of 
Leipsic.  With  these  ancient  Lutherans,  rationalism  and  the 
Reformed  church  mean  nearly  the  same  thing  ;  while  they 
identify  the  Lutheran  doctrine  with  that  of  the  Bible.  They 
admit  many  of  the  doctrines  held  in  England  by  the  Pusey- 
ites,  as  baptismal  regeneration,  and  consubstantiation  in  tne 
Lord's  Supper  ;  but  they  maintain  justification  by  faith,  and 
this  has  saved  them. 


36  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

Such  is  the  first  movement  now  taking  place  in  Germany  ; 
and  whose  two  opposite  poles  are  infidelity  and  faith. 

There  is  another  which  I  have  pointed  out ;  that  whose 
two  poles  are  individualism  and  the  church.  I  now  proceed 
to  sketch  some  of  its  characteristics. 


IV. 

SECOND    MOVEMENT. 

THIS  necessity  of  concentration,  now  evident  in  Germany, 
seems  to  me  to  have  assumed  three  successive  forms. 

The  tendency  towards  union  was  first  manifested  by  Chris- 
tian societies,  or  religious  associations  similar  to  those  we 
have  in  Switzerland,  France,  and  Britain  especially. 

In  the  meanwhile,  until  German  individualism  melts  away 
into  great  ecclesiastical  unions,  the  people  have  been  making 
trial  of  religious  associations,  such  as  the  Bible,  and  mission- 
ary societies,  with  some  others.  The  Bible  meetings  have 
given  us  some  valuable  articles  from  the  pen  of  Neander ; 
and  the  missionary  meetings  have  contributed  everywhere 
to  reanimate  the  Christian  spirit.  This  has  been  the  case 
more  particularly  in  the  grand  duchy  of  Baden,  and  in  Wur- 
temberg,  where  the  powerful  voice  of  Inspector  Hoffmann 
of  Bale  has  often  been  heard.  The  Germans  seem  inferior 
to  our  British  friends  in  the  art  of  holding  large  meetings  ; 
but  they  are  improving  in  this  respect,  as  I  witnessed  on  an 
occasion  of  which  I  am  about  to  speak. 

The  Bible  and  missionary  societies  had  only  united  the 
Christians  of  a  few  towns,  or  of  a  few  provinces,  and  at 
most  of  a  few  countries  ;  the  Germans  have  now  taken  an- 
other step  forward.  The  Society  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  has 
been  formed  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  the  evangelical 
Christians  of  all  Germany. 

This  society,  founded  for  the  maintenance  of  Protestantism, 
met  at  Stutgard  on  the  2d  of  September.  I  attended  in  the 


GERMANY.  37 

name  of  my  friends  of  Geneva.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, from  the  towers  of  the  principal  church,  on  which  the 
flag  of  Wurtemberg  was  hoisted,  the  melodious  hymns  of 
Luther,  announcing  the  dawn  of  an  evangelical  day,  resounded 
all  over  the  town.  At  eight,  an  immense  crowd  rushed  into 
the  sacred  building,  which  was  adorned  with  garlands  and 
boughs.  Here  divine  service  was  to  be  performed,  and  its  lof- 
ty aisles  already  re-echoed  with  the  Hallelujah  of  Handel.  At 
ten,  a  still  greater  multitude  filled  another  church,  where  the 
meeting  of  the  society  was  to  be  held.  Delegates  from  many 
different  countries — from  Germany,  Switzerland,  France,  Bel- 
gium, Denmark,  Hungary,  Transylvania,  Portugal,  and  even 
from  America  and  the  Indies, — were  there  assembled.  There 
was  no  doubt  that  confusion  which  characterizes  Germany  ; 
there  were  gathered  together,  pell-mell,  all  kinds  of  opinions, 
from  Pantheism  and  Rationalism,  to  the  highest  doctrines  of 
the  faith ;  nevertheless,  the  sound  doctrines  predominated  in 
the  meeting. 

The  report  was  read  by  the  secretary,  Dr.  Grossmann  of 
Leipsic,  son  of  the  chairman  of  the  meeting.  The  principles 
stated  by  this  young  theologian  may  be  considered  as  the 
general  expression  of  all  parties  in  Germany.  Doubtless 
they  give  these  principles  different  interpretations  ;  yet  it  is 
nevertheless  important  to  know  what  are  the  general  ideas 
under  which  the  Protestant  world  of  Germany  is  now  rang- 
ing itself.  These,  then,  are  the  tones  in  which  the  society 
of  Gustavus  Adolphus  addressed  the  Germanic  nations : — 
"  We  shall  give  an  account,  gentlemen,  of  the  fidelity  with 
which  we  hand  down  to  future  ages  what  we  have  ourselves 
received.  It  is  necessary  to  the  development  of  mankind, 
that  the  moment  a  new  society  is  founded,  certain  spiritual 
powers  should  be  bestowed  on  it.  If  these  forces  are  weak- 
ened, the  whole  society  will  be  affected,  just  as  unwholesome 
food  weakens  and  reduces  the  body.  Two  of  these  forces, 
for  which  we  must  now  secure  a  great  influence  over  man- 
kind (unless  we  would  permit  it  to  be  lost  for  a  long  series 


38  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

of  years),  are  the  grand  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  and 
the  exclusive  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

These  are  certainly  sound  words :  the  whole  of  Christian- 
ity is  comprised  in  these  two  points. 

But  this  was  not  all :  another  idea,  an  idea  of  great  im- 
portance to  our  times,  was  pointed  out.  One  of  the  greatest 
theologians  of  Germany,  Dr.  Ullmann  of  Heidelberg  rose, 
and  said  in  the  name  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden, — "At 
length  we  behold  the  manifestation  of  that  living  communion 
which  unites  us  as  evangelical  Christians.  Yet  the  German 
Evangelical  Church,  however  important,  is  but  one  member 
of  the  whole  body.  Christianity,  far  from  destroying  differ- 
ent nationalities,  consecrates  and  sanctifies  them :  at  the  same 
time  it  hovers  over  them,  and  by  elevating  the  nations  would 
make  of  them  all  one  great  society  of  brethren.  All  nations 
are  called  upon  mutually  to  complete  each  other  on  the  com- 
mon ground  of  Christianity.  There  must  therefore  exist 
among  them  living  and  personal  relations,  and  the  evangel- 
ical Christians  of  all  nations  must  see,  understand,  love  each 
other,  and  join  hands  in  brotherhood.  A  church  which 
has  given  to  our  age  a  great  example  of  Christian  devoted- 
ness  and  sacrifice — the  Free  Church  of  Scotland — has  just 
called  us  to  this.  Let  us  therefore  invite  the  other  churches 
of  Christendom  to  found  societies  similar  to  ours,  and  to  send 
their  representatives  to  our  General  Assemblies." 

Immediately  after  the  motion  of  Dr.  Ullmann,  we  beheld 
successively  ascending  the  tribune  to  support  it,  Elvers, 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court;  Sydow,  chaplain  of  the  Court 
of  Potsdam ;  Dr.  Schumann,  the  superintendent ;  the  pastor, 
Steffenson  from  Denmark ;  Dr.  Filther,  from  Louisville,  in 
the  United  States ;  Zimmermann,  the  Court  chaplain ;  and 
Dr.  Nitzsch,  the  distinguished  theologian  of  Bonn,  superior 
counsellor  of  the  Consistory  ;  and  all  spoke  warmly  in  favor 
of  a  great  evangelical  unity. 

Let  us  profit  by  this  :  let  us  remember  that  there  are  in 
reality  but  two  nations  on  the  earth, — the  believers  and  the 


GERMANY.  39 

unbelievers ;  and  let  us  not  allow  trifles  to  separate  those  who 
have  alike  received  into  their  hearts  the  living  faith  of  the 
children  of  God. 

I  was  next  called  upon  to  speak.  "  I  am  come  from  Ge- 
neva," I  said.  "  There  is  here  at  Stutgard  an  evangelical 
meeting  to  uphold  the  work  of  the  great  Reformation.  The 
town  of  Calvin  cannot  hold  back.  Geneva  also  is  a  member 
of  Christ's  body.  Yes  ;  from  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  Gus- 
tavus  Adolphus,  the  great  Protestant  warrior,  and  from  the 
foot  of  Mont  Blanc,  John  Calvin,  the  great  Protestant  divine, 
should  join  hands  together  over  all  the  German  people." 

I  will  not  repeat  my  speech ;  it  has  been  printed  in  German, 
the  language  in  which  it  was  spoken.  Though  declaring 
that  I  respected  the  individuality  of  our  friends  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  and  honored  their  conscien- 
tious convictions,  I  thought  it  right  to  exhibit  to  them  in 
what  manner  our  evangelical  society  of  Geneva  differed  from 
theirs.  I  undertook  to  point  out  in  a  more  especial  manner 
three  principal  features.  I  first  showed  that  we  proposed  not 
only  to  preserve  the  ancient  Protestant  churches,  which  is  the 
aim  of  the  Society  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  but  that  we  de- 
sired to  gain  over  to  the  Gospel  those  souls  which  are  still 
enthralled  by  the  yoke  of  Rome ;  thus  being  aggressives  as 
well  as  conservatives.  I  added,  that  our  second  characteris- 
tic was  to  be,  as  regards  the  faith,  not  only  negative  but  posi- 
tive ;  not  contenting  ourselves  with  merely  rejecting  the  er- 
rors of  Rome,  but  striving  to  set  up  in  their  room  Jesus  Christ, 
his  eternal  Godhead,  his  expiatory  sacrifice,  and  justification 
by  faith  in  his  blood.  Lastly,  I  remarked,  as  the  third  dis- 
tinction, that  we  also  desired  Christian  unity ;  but,  that  with 
us  internal  unity,  the  unity  of  faith,  took  precedence  of  ex- 
ternal unity. 

I  learnt  with  pleasure  that  after  my  departure,  a  great 
number  of  the  most  venerable  men  in  Germany  united  to 
form  a  society,  which  proposed  to  act  on  the  principles  I  had 
pointed  out,  yet  without  separating  themselves  from  the  So- 


40  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

\ 

ciety  of  Gustavus  Adolphus.  I  could  not  have  had  a  more 
satisfactory  answer.  May  God  bless  this  design !  I  must 
nevertheless  add,  that  it  seems  difficult  to  prevent  such  con- 
flicting elements,  as  are  to  be  found  in  this  society,  from 
separating  at  no  very  distant  day.  If  the  separation  does 
not  proceed  from  the  men  of  faith,  the  unbelievers  will  un- 
dertake it.  Is  it  not  written  in  the  Word  of  God,  that  He 
divided  the  light  from  the  darkness  ?  When  a  society,  es- 
sentially evangelical,  is  once  established  in  Germany,  its  ac- 
tion will  be  much  more  powerful,  and  much  more  blessed. 

V. 

CHURCH   PRINCIPLES. 

IN  this  manner  is  German  individualism  amalgamating 
into  large  associations.  But  this  is  not  all :  there  is  an 
analogous  movement  of  concentration  going  on  at  this  time 
within  the  church.  I  have  said,  that  in  Germany  there  is  a 
science,  but  no  church.  The  people  wish  for  a  church,  they 
now  feel  the  want  of  it,  and  for  this  object  all  is  in  motion. 
They  desire  to  form  all  these  isolated  churches  into  one  great 
Presbyterian  church,  represented  by  the  ministers  and  depu- 
ties from  their  flocks.  They  go  even  farther,  and  would 
unite  all  the  churches  of  Germany  into  one  great  German 
church.  To  accomplish  this,  they  claim  the  self-regulation, 
independence,  and  liberty  of  the  church ;  seeing  that  the 
Erastian  element  divides,  while  the  Christian  element  unites. 

The  official  bonds  of  consistories  and  civil  governments  is 
the  starting  point,  while  the  goal  to  which  they  are  hasten- 
ing is  the  free  institutions  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  How 
is  the  latter  point  to  be  reached  from  the  former  ?  Some 
are  of  opinion  that  they  have  only  to  break  the  ties  that 
unite  the  church  to  the  state,  and  then  allow  the  church  to 
organize  itself  as  it  sees  proper ;  to  dissolve  all,  in  order  to 
remodel  all.  In  Germany  (I  speak  merely  as  an  historian 


GERMANY.  41 

and  not  as  a  judge)  they  think,  on  the  contrary,  by  what  I 
understand  from  conversation,  that  the  church  must  be 
emancipated  by  degrees  ;  and  that  if,  after  having  so  long 
remained  in  pupilage,  it  were  at  once  granted  the  liberty  of 
mature  age,  it  would  be  exposed  to  the  hazards  of  disorder, 
and  a  dangerous  influence  would  be  given  to  individualizing 
principles. 

The  Germans  are  willing  to  admit  into  the  church  the 
popular,  lay,  or  Presbyterian  element,  yet  they  would  retain 
that  which  is  consistorial,  governmental,  or  regal.  They 
want  an  ecclesiastical  constitution  somewhat  similar  to  those 
political  ones,  in  which  the  people  speak  through  their  rep- 
resentatives, and  the  crown  through  its  ministers.  I  also 
am  averse  to  abrupt  leaps,  and  in  favor  of  successive  devel- 
opments, so  long  at  least  as  God  does  not  hasten  the  course 
of  events;  yet  I  am  persuaded  that  in  these  new  ideas  of 
ecclesiastical  constitutions,  we  are  making  a  fatal  admixture 
of  politics  and  religion,  of  faith  and  infidelity,  and  are  sacri- 
ficing to  ancient  prejudices  the  purity,  life,  self-regulation, 
and  independence  of  the  church. 

I  have  been  requested  to  give  some  particulars  of  my  visit 
to  a  German  divine  who  takes  great  interest  in  the  new  or- 
ganization of  the  church.  There  are  certain  matters  which 
should  be  withheld  by  every  traveller,  yet  there  are  others 
which  belong  to  the  public,  because  they  characterize  the 
time  and  the  people  of  whom  I  am  at  present  s'peaking.  I 
will  therefore  say  a  few  words  of  one  of  the  German  theo- 
logians, who  appears  to  me  the  most  faithful  representative 
of  the  present  movement,  I  mean  Dr.  Ullmann.  I  saw  him 
at  Heidelberg,  where  I  remained  about  a  month,  and  was 
often  at  his  house,  at  the  bottom  of  the  pretty  hill  on  which 
stand  the  splendid  ruins  of  that  ancient  and  well-known 
castle.  I  met  him  again  in  the  pleasing  and  delightful 
walks  in  the  environs  of  Baden,  that  little  Switzerland  ;  and 
lastly,  in  the  numerous  and  imposing  assemblies  of  German 
Protestantism  at  Stutgard.  Since  then  Ullmann  has  visited 


42  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

Berlin  as  a  member  of  the  evangelical  conference,  assembled 
by  the  king  of  Prussia.  I  can  the  more  readily  recall  the 
conversations  I  had  with  him,  as  I  have  since  found,  in  a 
pamphlet  published  by  him,  many  things  which  he  said  to 
me.  They  now  belong  to  the  public. 

"  The  agitated  period  in  which  we  live,"  said  Ullmann, 
"  demands  a  strong  remedy  ;  and  the  time  is  now  come,  if  it 
is  ever  to  come,  when  we  must  have  recourse  to  some  great 
measure  fit  to  rebuild  the  church. 

"  The  objective  foundation  of  the  church,  (namely  that 
which  is  out  of  ourselves,)  is  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  Man 
and  the  Son  of  God,  Reconciler  and  Redeemer.  The  sub- 
jective foundation,  (namely,  that  which  ought  to  be  found 
within  ourselves,)  is  the  living  faith  in  Christ,  by  which 
grace  is  applied  to  us ;  the  union  with  Christ  in  the  Spirit ; 
that  union  from  which  proceeds  a  new  life  consecrated  to 
God.  It  is  only  upon  this  double  foundation,  which  in  real- 
ity forms  but  one,  that  the  church  can  be  rebuilt.  The 
essential  always  is,  that  Christ  the  Redeemer  is  the  source 
of  the  new  life;  and  without  this  primary  basis  all  external 
improvements  are  but  vanity  and  nothingness. 

"  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  an  indifferent  matter,  to  ascertain 
what  form  and  what  constitution  an  ecclesiastical  society 
ought  to  have.  There  must  be  for  the  spirit  a  correspond- 
ing body ;  the  tendency  towards  what  is  internal  ought  not 
to  lead  us  into  a  morbid  spiritualism.  The  spirit  begets  the 
form,  but  the  form  preserves  the  spirit :  faith  constitutes  the 
church,  but  the  church  nourishes  faith.  He  who  would  de- 
lay giving  a  constitution  to  a  church  until  the  true  spirit  is 
universal  therein,  would  have  to  wait  to  the  end  of  time. 
No  :  those  in  whom  the  true  spirit  of  the  church  resides — 
the  believers  who  have  received  a  prophetic  glance — should 
endeavor  to  find  out  the  form  in  which  the  life  of  the  church 
may  best  prosper  and  move  forward. 

"  What  the  church  requires,  is  not  so  much  a  radical  and 
universal  remodelling,  as  a  development  of  the  principles  of 


GERMANY.  43 

the  Reformation.  He  who  would  abandon  these  principles 
would  break  the  bonds  of  union  and  fall  into  ecclesiastical 
radicalism  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  he  who  will  not  con- 
tent himself  with  essential  principles,  but  would  preserve 
every  particular,  and  every  regulation  of  olden  times,  would 
deny  the  principles  of  liberty  and  development,  and  fall  into 
fetabilism  or  statu-quo-ism.  Between  these  two  extremes  lies 
the  true  way,  sound  historical  progress  :  this  is  the  path 
which  the  church  should  now  pursue,  as  in  the  days  of  the 
Reformation. 

"  The  church  is  sickly,  whence  should  come  its  aid  ? 

"  Science  alone  cannot  heal  it.  We  possess,  in  Germany, 
the  richest  theology,  and  yet  we  have  in  the  church  only  a 
most  confused,  defective  life  which  can  by  no  means  satisfy 
us.  Life  can  only  proceed  from  life. 

"  But  will  not  help  come  from  the  state,  from  the  king  ? 

"  To  this  again  me  must  answer,  no.  We  do  not  desire  a 
radical  separation  of  church  and  state ;  but  yet  it  is  evident 
that  there  are  here  two  very  different  spheres.  The  state 
cannot  administer  the  powers  of  redemption  and  sanctifica- 
tion,  and  it  must  allow  the  church  the  right  of  freely  devel- 
oping herself.  If  the  state,  if  a  prince,  claims  to  act  in  the 
church,  this  can  only  infinitely  augment  the  agitation  and  the 
confusion.  And  even  supposing  that  the  state  does  all  that 
the  church  would  have  done,  the  result  would  nevertheless 
be  entirely  different.  The  whole  duty  of  a  prince  is  to  leave 
a  fair  field  to  the  church ;  for  the  safety  of  the  church  can 
come  only  from  the  church,  and  through  the  church. 

"  In  Germany,  we  find  in  the  church  the  monarchical  sys- 
tem, by  virtue  of  which,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  eccle- 
siastical power  was  transferred  from  the  bishops  to  the  prin- 
ces. But  by  the  side  of  this  system  there  stands  another, 
which,  coming  originally  from  Geneva,  has  been  especially 
realized  in  Scotland ;  this  is  the  Representative  system,  by 
virtue  of  which  the  ecclesiastial  p6wer  resides  in  the  whole 
body  of  the  church,  and  is  exercised  by  the  organs  she  her- 


44  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

self  chooses.  Now,  the  German  church  must,  without  re- 
jecting the  former  of  these  elements,  receive  the  latter,  the 
representative  Presbyterian  element.  Let  us  not,  through 
hesitation  and  anxious  delays,  allow  the  decisive  moment  to 
pass  away.  If  a  man  is  to  learn  to  swim,  he  does  not  throw 
himself  at  first  into  the  deepest  part  of  the  sea,  yet  he  must 
go  into  the  water.  So  it  is  with  the  church.  We  must 
build  up  the  edifice  by  degrees  ;  we  must  build  cautiously, 
so  as  to  leave  the  different  stories  time  enough  to  consoli- 
date ;  but  we  must  begin  at  once,  we  must  set  to  work  on  a 
fixed  plan,  in  order  that  the  house  may,  without  delay,  be 
built  up,  raised  to  the  light  of  day,  and  ere  long  even  to  the 
corner  stone." 

Thus  spoke  Ullmann.  I  have  but  few  words  to  add  upon 
the  two  elements  he  points  out :  the  Governmental  or  Ger- 
man element,  and  the  Presbyterian  or  Genevese.  For  my 
own  part,  I  declare  myself  for  the  Genevese  element  purely 
and  simply.  We  love  the  Germans  much,  but  in  this  re- 
spect we  desire  to  have  nothing  in  common  with  them.  We 
will  have  nothing  to  do,  either  with  those  Germans  who 
place  the  ecclesiastical  authority  in  the  state,  or  with  the 
Romans  who  place  it  in  the  clergy.  We  desire  to  remain 
true  Genevese,  who,  looking  to  Christ  as  the  Head  of  au- 
thority to  the  church,  place  the  church  power  in  the  assem- 
bly of  the  faithful,  and  the  exercise  of  it  in  the  council  of 
ministers  and  elders. 

This  is  the  goal  to  which  Germany  is  tending,  but  she 
will  not  take  any  sudden  leaps.  The  eminent  man,  whose 
thoughts  I  have  expressed,  said  nothing  to  me  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  yet  this  may  be  gathered  from  his  writings.  The  ad- 
ministration of  the  church  of  Germany  is  at  present  wholly 
gevernmental.  Those  Germans  who  wish  for  successive  de- 
velopments would  not  have  it  made  entirely  Presbyterian ; 
they  therefore  propose  a  system  half  governmental,  half 
Presbyterian ;  but  this  is  merely  a  step.  The  Genevese  sys- 
tem will  go  round  the  world.  May  it  but  be  found  in  Geneva ! 


GERMANY.  45 

May  God  raise  up  within  her  that  truly  Christian  people 
who  are  the  essence  of  the  church,  and  without  whom  the 
best  ecclesiastical  constitutions  are  of  no  avail ;  that  people 
who  are  not  the  whole  multitude  of  the  citizens,  but,  as  the 
Bible  says,  "  The  multitude  of  them  that  believe,  who  are 
of  one  heart  and  one  soul  ;"*  that  people  who  having  at- 
tained their  majority,  well  know  how  to  choose  of  their  elders 
and  pastors,  without  being  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  the 
guardianship  of  municipalities. f  If  the  Christian  world  can 
say  that  this  system  was  once  born  in  Geneva  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  may  it  be  able  to  say,  that  in  the  nineteenth 
it  was  there  born  again ;  otherwise,  there  will  be  a  medicine 
that  formerly  grew  within  our  own  walls,  everywhere  in  use, 
except  among  ourselves.  "  Physician,  heal  thyself,"  saith 
the  Bible. 

"  The  part  of  the  prince,"  said  Ullmann,  "  is  to  leave  a  fair 
field  to  the  church."  Princes  easily  forget  this.  They  like 
to  grasp  and  mould  in  their  iron  hand,  the  spiritual  interests 
of  the  church.  It  has  been  reserved  to  our  times  to  furnish 
a  deplorable  instance  of  this  usurpation.  The  civil  power 
of  Russia  is  employed  in  converting  to  the  Greek  church, 
not  only  Roman  Catholics,  but  also  the  poor  Protestants  of 
Livonia.J  I  hope  that  in  Germany,  on  the  contrary,  the 
princes  will  feel  more  and  more  convinced  that  they  should 
leave  to  God  all  that  appertains  to  God.  It  is  observable 
that  at  this  very  time  God  has  bestowed  upon  that  German 
state,  which  takes  the  lead  of  the  others,  a  prince,  not  only 

*  Acts,  iv.  32. 

f  By  the  constitution  of  1842,  the  election  of  elders  was  vested  in  the 
municipality  of  Geneva.  The  constitution  of  1847  grants  it  to  all  the 
people  who  possess  political  rights. 

£  Some  exact  and  interesting  information  will  be  found  at  the  end  of 
this  volume  (Note  A.),  concerning  the  great  work  undertaken  by  the 
Greek  church,  supported  by  government,  to  abolish  Protestantism  in  the 
German  provinces  of  Russia,  and  to  bring  the  worshippers  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  the  feet  of  the  Virgin  and  the  Saints. 


46  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

of  an  exalted  intellect,  but  of  a  piety  capable  of  understand- 
ing and  sharing  in  the  wants  and  wishes  of  the  church. 

With  this  prince  (the  king  of  Prusia)  is  associated  one 
of  the  most  pleasing  recollections  of  my  visit  to  Germany. 
Having  arrived  on  Saturday  the  2d  of  August,  at  Coblentz, 
on  my  return  from  England,  I  went  to  pass  the  night  at  the 
village  of  Lahnstein,  delightfully  situated  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  river,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Lahn  and  the  Rhine, 
opposite  to  the  castle  of  Stolzenfels,  where  the  king  of  Prus- 
sia was  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  queen  of  England.  I 
shall  never  forget  that  evening.  The  Prussian  flag  was 
floating  from  the  highest  tower  of  that  superb  fortress  ;  and 
the  whole  village  of  Stolzenfels,  which  extends  along  the 
river,  was  adorned  with  garlands,  and  filled  with  eager 
crowds.  The  cannon,  which  re-echoed  from  hill  to  hill,  an- 
nouncing every  moment  the  approach  of  the  king,  who  was 
returning  from  an  evening  excursion  in  his  steam-boat — the 
heights  that  closed  in  the  horizon,  everywhere  crowned  with 
noble  ruins,  amidst  which  arose,  in  queen-like  majesty,  the 
picturesque  walls  of  the  castle  of  Stolzenfels,  which  the  king 
has  so  admirably  restored :  that  proud  and  noble  river,  im- 
petuous but  without  fury,  wild  but  majestic  ;  sweeping  the 
boats  and  the  reedy  shore  with  his  flowing  mane,  "  his  oozy 
beard,"  as  Boileau  calls  it, — the  noise  of  which  is  a  loud  but 
gentle  roar,  not  unlike  the  mighty  sea;  the  quiet  of  the 
evening,  the  coolness  of  the  river,  the  first  shades  of  night, — 
formed  a  spectacle  which  we  could  not  contemplate  without 
emotion,  and  which  raised  us  to  communion  with  the  mighty 
works  of  God  in  nature.  A  great  poet  (Victor  Hugo)  has 
said,  "  The  Rhone  awakens  in  my  mind  the  idea  of  the  tiger, 
the  Rhine  that  of  a  lion."  I  know  not  if  we,  who  dwell 
on  the  banks  of  the  Rhone,  will  allow  of  the  former  compari- 
son, but  the  latter  is  a  correct  one. 

I  learnt,  that  on  the  following  day  the  chapel  royal  was 
to  be  consecrated,  and  that  there  would  be  no  other  evan- 
gelical service.  I  therefore  asked  permission  of  the  minister 


GERMANY.  47 

of  the  king's  household  to  attend  it ;  and  in  the  morning  I 
repaired  thither  with  the  friend  who  was  travelling  with  me. 
We  were  introduced  by  the  captain  of  the  guard.  "Even 
as  this  ancient  castle  has  arisen  from  its  ruins  in  all  the 
splendor  of  modern  times,"  said  the  officiating  minister,  "  so 
is  the  ancient  Christian  worship  to-day  established  within 
this  chapel,  in  all  the  Gospel  light  of  the  new  times."  Af- 
ter service,  while  remaining  in  that  modern  Gothic  chapel  to 
examine  its  beauty,  the  king  condescended  to  invite  me  to 
go  on  the  terrace  where  he  was.  In  the  brightest  morning 
of  kist  year,  under  one  of  the  lofty  arches  of  those  magnif- 
icent terraces  which  encircle  the  castle,  where  every  thing  is 
perfect  in  coolness  and  beauty,  looking  out  on  the  finest 
view  of  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  I  found  the  king,  the  queen, 
and  their  court.  I  will  not  repeat  the  conversation  I  had 
with  his  majesty.  He  did  not  speak  of  Germany ;  I  can- 
not therefore  say,  from  my  own  knowledge,  what  are  his 
views  on  the  subjects  I  have  mentioned  above ;  and  even 
had  he  spoken  of  them,  I  should  not  tell  what  passed.  The 
fashion  of  repeating  whatever  the  personages  we  meet  with 
in  our  travels  may  have  said,  and  of  describing  their  per- 
sonal appearance,  will  long,  I  hope,  among  us  be  considered 
as  a  mark  of  indiscretion,  even  when  a  king  is  concerned. 
I  can  only  say  that,  in  my  interview,  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  verifying  the  words  of  the  wise  man,  "  there  is  grace  in 
the  mouth  of  a  king."  It  was  his  father's  birth-day.  I 
was  not  aware  of  it ;  and  having  spoken  of  the  late  king 
with  an  expression  of  gratitude  for  Geneva,  his  son  started 
and  looked  up.  This  sudden  touch  of  filial  emotion  affected 
me.  We  saw  all  the  castle,  and  afterwards  its  delightful 
environs,  even  the  old  stone  which  marks  the  spot  where,  in 
ancient  times,  the  electors  of  the  empire  used  to  assemble 
by  the  rivers's  side,  in  a  simple  and  rustic  manner,  to  exer- 
cise their  august  functions. 

With  any  other  prince  than  the  king  of  Prussia,  the  wish 
of  the  church  to  be  freed  from  governmental  leading-strings, 


48  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

would,  no  doubt,  have  been  greeted  with  a  decided  refusal ; 
let  us  hope  that  it  will  not  be  so  no\v.  Yet,  let  us  ac- 
knowledge how  difficult  is  the  position  of  a  king,  and  not 
be  too  ready  to  accuse  him,  as  is  the  wont  of  men  who  are 
always  exacting,  and  always  unsatisfied.  During  his  reign 
the  bark  of  the  church,  and  the  bark  of  the  state,  are  both 
about  to  launch  into  an  unknown  sea  :  may  the  Lord  be  the 
pilot  to  steer  them  through  the  numerous  shoals  ! 


VI. 


THE    GERMAN    CATHOLIC    QUESTION. 

THE  first  step  taken  by  Germany  to  free  herself  from 
the  isolation  which  had  hitherto  characterized  her,  was 
the  foundation  of  a  vast  society  including  all  Protestants. 
The  second  was  the  formation  of  evangelical  Presbyterian 
churches  in  all  the  countries  of  Germany — churches  which 
will  be  united  by  common  bonds.  Yet  a  third  step  might 
be  taken.  A  great  part  of  Germany  is  still  Roman  Cath- 
olic :  to  establish  a  complete  unity,  it  would  be  therefore 
necessary  to  amalgamate  the  Romish  and  the  Protestant 
parts  into  one  church.  This,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  is  to 
be  effected  by  the  late  German  Catholic  movement.  I  do 
not  coincide,  with  this  opinion  myself,  yet  I  must  own,  that 
this  third  step  might  be  practicable,  and  even  desirable ;  and 
in  any  case,  I  cannot  take  leave  of  Germany  without  adding 
a  few  words  on  German  Catholicism. 

I  did  not  see  it  in  its  centre,  in  Silesia  and  Brandenburg. 
I  did  not  visit  the  place  where  this  new  blast  had  raised  the 
storm.  I  only  saw  a  few  of  its  waves  breaking  at  my  feet. 
Nevertheless,  the  very  countries  in  which  I  saw  it,  are  those 
in  which  it  is  now  exciting  public  attention  to  the  greatest 
degree.  You  are  aware  that  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden, 
numerous  petitions  have  been  signed,  both  for  and  against 


GERMANY.  49 

religious  liberty  ;  as  it  is  not  on  the  shores  of  our  lake  alone* 
that  worldly  men  are  not  ashamed  to  attack  that  first  of  all 
rights. 

At  Manheim,  the  new  church,  now  in  a  flourishing  condi- 
tion, was  just  forming  when  I  passed  through  it.  It  is  a  gay 
and  worldly  town.  "  Why,"  said  some  one  to  a  Roman 
Catholic,  "  do  not  you,  who  are  opposed  to  the  priests  and 
the  pope,  join  the  German  Catholic  Church?" — "For  two 
reasons,"  was  the  reply.  "  The  first,  because  I  should  have 
to  go  to  church,  and  I  had  rather  amuse  myself ;  the  second, 
that  I  should  have  to  give  money,  and  I  had  rather  keep 
it."  These  are  some  of  the  motives  that  keep  the  adherents 
of  the  pope  faithful  to  their  standard. 

While  I  was  at  Heidelberg,  the  new  church  had  neither 
priest  nor  minister ;  the  members  celebrated  divine  worship 
among  themselves.  "  I  must  own  to  you,"  said  one  of  these, 
"  that  up  to  the  time  (a  month  ago),  when  I  joined  the  Ger- 
man Catholic  church,  I  had  never  opened  the  Bible ;  but  I 
read  it  now."  This  person,  who  had  been  reading  the  Bible 
"  for  a  month,"  was  a  teacher  in  these  meetings ! 

At  Stutgard,  the  capital  of  Wurtemberg,  I  attended,  at 
seven  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning,  the  worship  of  this  new 
church  in  the  Reformed  chapel.  There  were  very  few 
women,  but  many  men  ;  several,  no  doubt,  strangers  like  my- 
self. I  observed  very  little  seriousness  before  the  service 
began ;  they  were  standing  in  groups,  and  even  talking  some- 
what loudly.  It  was  more  like  the  commencement  of  a 
political  or  literary  meeting,  than  of  one  for  religious  worship. 

At  length  the  priest,  having  put  on  his  canonicals  in  a 
corner  of  the  building,  came  and  stood  before  the  altar, 
which  was  somewhat  shabbily  ornamented  with  garlands, 
tapers,  and  a  picture.  He  was  a  tall,  stout,  red-faced  man, 
with  a  drawling  tone  and  coarseness  of  manner,  which  are 
not  uncommonly  found  in  the  Romish  clergy.  He  told  us 

*  The  Canton  of  Vaud,  and  the  persecutions  of  the  Free  Church 
there. 

a 


50  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

he  knew  the  papacy  well,  for  he  had  been  a  priest  twenty- 
five  years,  which  was  plain  enough  to  be  seen. 

The  only  satisfactory  part  of  this  worship  was  the  singing  : 
it  was  almost  too  good,  but  the  words  were  not  very  Chris- 
tian ;  even  what  was  sung  during  the  Lord's  Supper,  or  the 
mass  (in  which  four  persons,  one  of  whom  was  a  soldier, 
took  part),  celebrated  Christ  merely  as  a  model.  God  was 
the  "  universal  father  "  (Allvater).  The  sermon  was  pretty 
long,  inveighing  against  Rome,  principally  as  to  confession, 
but  I  could  discern  in  it  no  trace  of  a  truly  evangelical 
spirit.  ' 

Let  us  now  inquire,  what  is  the  religion  of  this  new 
church  ?  Is  it  Catholicism  ?  Is  it  Evangelism  ?  Or  is  it  some- 
thing new  ? 

Is  it  Catholicism,  as  we  might  be  led  to  think,  by  the 
name  this  church  has  taken  ?  Rejecting  the  narrow  and 
sectarian  Catholicism  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  even  that 
wider  and  less  definite,  though  equally  superstitious  one  of 
the  middle  ages,  it  might  indeed  fall  back  upon  the  Catholi- 
cism of  the  earlier  periods,  the  Catholicism  of  Augustin  and 
Cyprian,  as  a  powerful  party  in  the  Anglican  church  pro- 
fesses to  do.  But  this  has  not  been  done  in  Germany.  It 
must,  in  that  case,  have  adopted  the  Nicean  and  Athanasian 
creeds,  the  doctrines  of  Irenaeus  and  Augustin,  while  it  will 
not  have  even  the  Apostles'  Creed.  And  as  for  church  gov- 
ernment, the  episcopal  aristocracy  and  strict  discipline  of 
the  early  ages  would  be  most  distasteful  to  these  new 
Catholics.  These,  then,  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  re-es- 
tablishment of  primitive  Catholicism. 

Are  they,  then,  simply  an  evangelical  church,  similar  to 
those  formed  by  the  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century  ? 
By  no  means.  They  reject  the  name,  for  they  are  tenacious 
of  the  appellation  of  Catholic  ;  they  reject  the  faith,  for 
they  dislike  the  creeds  of  the  sixteenth  century,  still  more 
than  those  of  the  fourth.  Lastly,  they  reject  the  com- 


GERMANY.  51 

munion,  for  they  will  not  amalgamate  with  the  Protestant 
church ;  they  are  determined  to  be  an  isolated  sect. 

But  as  they  belong  to  neither  of  these  great  manifestations, 
being  neither  Catholic  nor  Evangelical,  are  they,  then,  some- 
thing new  ?  What,  it  is  not  enough  to  say  that  you  are  no 
Papist !  Begin,  if  you  will,  by  pulling  down  the  old  build- 
ing, and  throwing  away  the  mouldering  stones  and  rotten 
beams  ;  sweep  the  rubbish  out  of  your  way,  but  then  build 
up  something,  lay  a  foundation,  erect  a  better  edifice, — that 
is  an  essential  thing.  This,  it  must  be  owned,  is  the  weak 
side  of  the  new  community  ;  we  cannot  see  what  it  sets  up 
in  the  room  of  what  it  overturns. 

We  might  be  tempted  to  think  that  it  establishes  mere 
morality  in  the  place  of  faith.  Humanity  and  love  are  what 
they  generally  talk  about  in  all  these  churches  ;  and  it  seems 
that  faith  is  to  be  left  to  each  congregation,  even  to  each  in- 
dividual, as  being  merely  a  private  affair.  This  is  an  error 
which  unfortunately  is  not  uncommon  elsewhere.  But  the 
Theophilanthropists  of  Laveveillere  Lepeaux,  at  the  end  of 
the  French  Revolution,  did  not  last  long.  To  try  to  found  a 
church  upon  morality,  would  be  like  pretending  to  plant  a 
tree  composed  of  fruits  alone,  and  which  should  have  neither 
stem  nor  roots. 

Of  all  the  numerous  congregations  of  German  Catholicism, 
there  are  three,  and  no  more,  if  I  do  not  mistake,  who  cling 
to  the  religion  of  God  ;  those  of  Schneidemuhle,  Berlin,  and 
Elberfeld.  They  have  preserved  the  Holy  Trinity,  the  Fa- 
ther Almighty ;  His  only  Son,  very  God,  having  the  same 
nature  and  .the  same  essence  with  the  Father,  by  whom  all 
things  were  made,  who  became  man  and  died  for  us ;  and, 
lastly,  belief  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  to  be  worshipped 
and  glorified  together  with  the  Father  and  the  Son.  But 
most  of  the  other  churches — all,  indeed,  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection — have  turned  aside  to  Rationalism.  When  Ronge 
appeared  in  the  east  of  Switzerland,  he  said — "  The  Protes- 
tants have  rejected  the  pope,  but  they  have  set  up  another 


52  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

pope  in  his  place — the  Bible !"  Would  to  God  that  were 
everywhere  the  case  !  Since  that  time  he  has  more  openly 
professed  infidelity. 

The  confession  of  Leipsic,  the  only  one  recognized  by  the 
whole  of  German  Catholicism,  confesses  simply  :  "  Belief  in 
God,  the  Creator  and  Preserver  of  the  world  ;  in  Jesus  Christ 
our  Saviour,  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  Christian  church  uni- 
versal, in  the  remission  of  sins,  and  in  life  everlasting."  In 
this  confession  it  is  not  even  said  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of 
God, — He  may  be  a  mere  man  ;  nothing  is  said  of  His  work 
of  expiation  and  reconciliation,  of  sin,  of  condemnation,  of 
the  fall,  of  justification,  of  regeneration,  and  of  sanctification. 
It  has  been  said  of  the  confession  of  Leipsic,  that  it  is  a  frame 
without  a  picture  ;  perhaps  that  may  come  afterwards,  but 
as  yet  it  is  a  mere  blank. 

And  what  will  be  the  constitution  of  the  new  church  ? 
This  we  may  conceive  from  what  took  place  at  the  first  pro- 
vincial synod  of  Silesia,  which  decided  that  the  clergy  have 
no  voice  in  church  councils,  and  may  not  be  deputed  to  the 
provincial  synods.  On  the  17th  of  August,  1845,  they  abol- 
ished the  pastoral  duties,  and  granted  votes  to  widows,  wives, 
and  young  girls.  (Evang.  Kirchen.  Zeit.,  1846,  p.  13.) 
Ecclesiastical  radicalism  can  go  no  farther. 

Let  us  follow  the  new  apostles  in  their  mission.  We  hear 
them  speak  enthusiastically  of  enlightenment,  liberty,  charity, 
and  patriotism ;  but  very  little  of  Jesus  Christ  dead,  raised 
to  life,  and  glorified  with  God  in  heaven.  In  their  meetings 
we  see  nothing  of  the  holy  gravity  of  the  apostles  and  re- 
formers ;  but  in  their  stead  we  find  enlivening  music,  nu- 
merous banquets,  and  noisy  toasts.  Some  have  therefore  ex- 
pressed a  fear  that  all  this  stir  will  come  to  nothing  in  the 
end,  but  to  organize  a  society  of  good  fellows,  a  jovial  anti- 
papistical  club,  which  will  last  as  long  as  there  is  sparkling 
Champagne  to  fill  their  glasses. 

No,  this  is  not  the  soil  on  which  churches  are  erected. 
A  church  is  proved  by  struggles,  sacrifices,  trials,  and  per- 


GERMANY.  53 

secutions.  Before  the  judgment  seat,  and  in  dungeons — not 
at  tables  covered  with  wines  and  loaded  with  delicacies- 
does  a  new  church  receive  her  baptism. 

The  new  Catholicism  is  not  a  church,  but  an  anti-ecclesi- 
astical movement.  It  has  been  called  a  new  Free-Masonry : 
a  severe  expression,  the  justice  of  which  time  alone  can  show. 
Doubtless,  we  must  not  judge  of  a  work  by  its  first  begin- 
nings. The  Holy  Spirit  may  act  upon  these  masses,  and 
bring  forth  from  them  children  of  God,  able  to  form  a  true 
church.  We  hope — we  pray — that  it  may  be  so  ;  but  we 
speak  according  to  human  probabilities.  If  a  tree  is  to  ex- 
tend its  grateful  foliage,  there  must  be  a  germ  fitted  to  pro- 
duce  that  tree,  otherwise  it  cannot  spring  up  ;  and  as  yet,  if 
we  except  three  or  four  of  the  congregations  of  the  German 
Catholic  church,  we  may  search  in  vain  for  that  living  germ 
which  is  sufficient  to  form  a  church  of  Jesus  Christ.  To 
no  purpose  do  we  traverse  the  different  countries  where  it 
has  been  formed  ;  we  see  none  of  those  men  of  great  faith — 
of  that  faith  which  God  bestows  when  he  would  form  or  re- 
generate the  church — those  Luthers  or  Calvins,  those  Pauls 
or  Peters,  those  rocks  which  serve  to  raise  up  the  new  edi- 
fice. 

The  most  probable  destiny  of  German  Catholicism  is  a 
union  with  the  Protestant  rationalism  of  the  Friends  of  Light. 
The  old  Reformation  and  the  new  will  thus  cross  each  other. 
While  the  many  rationalists  in  the  Protestant  church  will 
leave  it  to  unite  with  the  new  Catholicism,  the  three  or  four 
Christian  congregations  of  the  new  Catholicism  will  come 

O         O 

out  from  it  to  join  the  Evangelical  church,  then  purified 
from  the  infidel  elements  it  yet  contains.  There  will  thus  be 
in  Germany  three  great  communions  with  well  marked  and 
well  defined  characteristics — Evangelism,  or  the  religion  of 
God  ;  Popery,  or  the  religion  of  the  priest ;  Rationalism,  or 
the  religion  of  fallen  man. 

M.  Gervinus,  a  Heidelberg  doctor,  has  recently  taken 
upon  himself  to  predict  a  new  church,  and  to  announce  the 


54  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

fusion  of  all  churches  into  one  vast  religious  community,  of 
•which  German  Catholicism  is  to  be  the  forerunner.  He 
styles  Goethe,  Voss,  Wieland,  Schiller,  Lessing,  Herder  (all 
of  them,  more  or  less,  decided  rationalists  of  the  eighteenth 
century),  the  "  reformers  of  a  new  Reformation,"  and  asserts, 
that  "  the  seed  sown  by  them,  having  grown  up  in  the  num- 
berless attractive  forms  of  poetry,  and  in  the  countless  works 
on  science,  has  penetrated  into  religion,  and  reanimated  it 
with  the  amiable  and  humane  spirit  of  antiquity." 

It  may,  perhaps,  come  to  this ;  German  Catholicism  may, 
perchance,  only  give  to  Protestant  Rationalism  the  strength 
to  constitute  itself  into  a  regular  community.  But  let  us 
take  heed  how  we  think  that  evangelical  Christianity  will  be 
absorbed  into  that  vague  and  indifferent  society  which  is  to 
bring  back  the  spirit  of  pagan  antiquity.  No  !  the  essential 
revelations  of  Christianity  will  still  subsist ;  the  life  of  faith 
which  God  produces  in  the  heart  will  yet  continue  to  ani- 
mate innumerable  souls.  The  church  may,  perhaps,  once 
more  become  a  poor,  unknown,  and  despised  sect ;  but  was 
not  her  Head,  during  his  sojourn  on  the  earth,  contemned  as  a 
sectarian  and  a  stranger  ?  There  will  yet  be  seven  thousand 
men  who  have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  this  new  Baal,  one 
aspect  of  which  reminds  us  of  the  times  of  Aristophanes  and 
of  Horace,  the  other  of  those  of  Voltaire  and  of  Frederic. 

However  this  may  be,  Germany  is  stirring ;  Germany  is 
moving.  It  might  long  have  been  thought  that  she  was  sacri- 
.ficing  every  thing  to  science — theological  science  ;  that  this 
was  her  only  aiir,  her  ne  plus  ultra.  But  it  is  not  so.  I 
have  been  in  company  with  the  most  learned  men,  and  have 
always  found  them  firmly  persuaded  that  Germany  must  pass 
through  successive  developments  ;  that  the  labors  of  theo- 
logical science  are  necessary  to  her ;  and  yet,  that  this  labor 
and  science  are  to  lead  to  two  ends — to  doctrine  and  to  life. 

It  has  often  been  said  at  Geneva  and  in  France,  "  Why  do 
you  busy  yourself  so  much  about  the  church,  about  doctrine 
and  life  ?  That  is  what  the  English,  the  Methodists  do  ; 


GERMANY.  55 

but  look  at  the  Germans,  who  are  far  more  learned  in  these 
matters,  they  do  not  stir."  This  can  be  said  no  longer. 
The  Germans  arc  stirring — they  are  interesting  themselves 
about  doctrine,  the  church  and  the  Christian  life  ;  they  are 
rising  in  their  turn.  This  is  a  very  recent  fact  of  great  im- 
portance in  the  development  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  May 
we  be  enabled  to  understand  it !  While  they  are  rising,  shall 
we  lie  still  ?  Shall  we  remain  in  that  mean  and  narrow 
bed  which  the  last  century  made  us  ?  When  all  are  stir- 
ring, shall  we  alone  continue  to  slumber  ? 

Germany  seems  to  have  forgotten  the  call  she  received 
from  God  three  centuries  ago,  and  now  she  suddenly  recol- 
lects it.  She  starts  up,  and  again  finds  her  Melancthons,  if 
she  no  longer  finds  a  Luther.  She  is  moving  upon  the  field 
of  the  church,  after  having  appeared  to  move  solely  upon 
that  of  philosophy  and  the  arts. 

Honor  to  the  people  who  remember  their  history,  their 
fathers,  their  destiny,  their  calling,  their  work !  Honor  to 
Germany  who  remembers  hers  ! 

But  has  Geneva  no  history?  Has  she  no  fathers,  no 
work,  no  destiny,  no  calling  ? 

I  trust  that  in  this  rising  generation,  to  which  we  must 
soon  give  place,  there  may  be  some  who  will  remember  it. 
I  trust  that  young  men,  firm  in  the  faith,  will  undertake, 
amidst  so  many  struggles,  and  in  spite  of  so  many  adverse 
influences,  to  build  up  the  temple  of  God.  And  as  I  have 
seen  the  flag  of  Wurtemberg  waving  from  the  towers  of  its 
metropolis,  and  the  colors  of  Brandenburg  floating  over  the 
picturesque  battlements  of  Stolzenfels,  so  I  trust  that  from 
these  ancient  towers  of  St.  Peter,  at  the  base  of  which  we 
are  now  met,  we  may  soon  (I  speak  figuratively)  behold  the 
banner  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  Jesus — Man,  God,  and  Saviour ; 
so  that  the  whole  world  may  know  that  new  Geneva  has 
hoisted  on  her  turrets  the  standard  of  ancient  days,  which 
is  that  of  the  new  times,  of  the  everlasting  ages. 


CHAPTER    II. 

ENGLAND. 

1.  Arrival.  Salutation.  Revolution  now  in  progress.  Error.  The 
Sectarian  System.  The  Latitudinarian.  The  Christian.  Popery. 
The  Gardener  of  the  State. — 2.  Entry  into  London.  Bustle.  Prac- 
tical Tendency.  The  Common  People.  Public  Men.  The  Youth. 
Equality  and  Liberty.  Wealth.  Country  Seats  and  Shops.  The 
Aristocracy.  British  Enthusiasm.  Hospitality.  .  Discipline  and 
Piety. — 3.  Bondage  to  the  Comfortable  and  the  Fashionable.  The 
Merit  of  Wealth  and  Power.  Puritanism  and  Worldliness.  Chris- 
tianity should  be  manifested  in  the  Flesh.  Evils  of  large  Properties. 
An  Exception.  The  Sites.  Grandeur  of  the  Manufacturing  and 
Mercantile  Towns.  The  reverse  of  the  Medal.  A  human  Form  in 
the  Strand.  A  Story  in  a  Sermon.  Want  of  popular  Instruction. 
Drs.  Sack  and  Luke. — 4.  Conscientiousness  of  a  People.  Religion 
necessary  to  England.  Service  at  Cambridge.  Fear  of  God  among 
the  People.  The  Divine  Law  or  Duty.  Sunday  in  Britain.  The 
Railroads  and  the  Sunday.  Puseyism  proceeds  from  the  same  Prin- 
ciple.— 5.  The  Articles.  Doctrine  and  Life.  Religious  Meetings. 
Capacity  of  the  British.  Explosions  of  Eloquence.  The  Lions  of 
Meetings  in  Scotland  and  England.  Preachers. — 6.  Christian  Union. 
Breakfast  at  Liverpool.  The  Bishop  and  the  London  Missions. 
Westminster  and  the  Presbyterians.  Hanover  Square  Rooms  and 
Finsbury  Chapel. — 7.  Reformation  in  the  Church  of  England.  Com- 
munion at  Geneva.  Strength  of  the  Evangelical  Party.  Two  Revo- 
lutions:— In  Theological  Instruction,  and  in  Church  Government. 
Convocations.  The  Shadows.  Preservation  and  Transformation. 
Reform.  Intervention  of  Members  of  the  Church.  Necessity  of  Ec- 
clesiastical Institutions.  Two  Armies  against  Rome.  Confidence 
and  Error. 

I. 

RELIGION    AND    THE    PEOPLE. 

I  EMBARKED  at  Ostend,  and  quitted  the  Continent.     We 
soon  came  in  sight  of  the  white  cliffs  and  chalky  hills  of 


ENGLAND.  57 

Kent.  Here,  in  the  Isle  of  Thanet,  the  first  Saxons  landed ; 
farther  on,  at  Hastings,  landed  William  the  Conqueror ;  at 
Dover,  Caesar  disembarked ;  and  there  also,  at  the  foot  of 
its  ancient  castle,  I  stepped  on  shore,  and  some  thousands 
do  the  like  every  month.  In  five  hours  I  had  come  from 
Ostend  to  Dover,  and  soon  after  I  reached  London  by  rail- 
road. 

For  nearly  thirty  years,  England  was  incessantly  eulogized 
in  a  religious  point  of  view.  Now  the  wind  has  changed, 
and  loud  complaints  are  raised  against  her.  No  doubt  there 
is  some  reason  for  them  :  Puseyism  is  a  fearful  manifestation. 
Yet  let  us  not  go  into  either  extreme ;  let  us  not  be  ultras  in 
any  way ;  let  us  be  grateful,  let  us  be  just.  For  my  own 
part,  I  confess,  that  on  setting  my  foot  on  the  soil  of  Eng- 
land, a  thrill  came  over-me  : — "  Hail  to  thee,  ancient  land  of 
Wickliffe,  Latimer,  and  Tindal ;  for  ages  thou  hast  been  the 
bulwark  of  Reformation !  Within  thee  have  been  wonder- 
fully preserved,  for  these  three  hundred  years,  the  holy  doc- 
trines of  grace  !  More  than  once,  hast  thou  proudly  stood 
forth  among  the  nations  a  representative  of  the  religion  of 
the  Word  of  God  !  Thy  mighty  hand  has  scattered  the 
sacred  writings  over  every  country  of  the  earth,  and  thy 
ships  have  carried  to  all  nations,  even  to  the  most  distant 
isles  of  the  sea,  the  messengers  of  peace !  No ,  we  will  not 
forget  thee  !  Who  could  ever  forget  the  children  thou  hast 
brought  up,  quickened  by  the  spirit  which  comes  down  from 
the  Head ;  Owen,  Flavel,  Baxter,  Bunyan,  John  Newton, 
Scott,  Cecil,  Simeon,  and  so  many  more  in  whom  the  Church 
of  God  rejoices  ?  Surely  the  fount  of  blessings  which  has 
sprung  from  thee,  can  never  be  dried  up,  and  the  whole 
world  may  still  come  and  joyfully  drink  of  it !" 

But  for  this  purpose,  one  thing  is  necessary.  A  great 
revolution  is  now  taking  place  in  the  political  destiny  of 
England.*  The  old  Toryism  is  falling  ;  the  Church  of  Eng- 

*  This  was  written  during  the  last  days  of  Sir  Robert  Peel's  Min- 


58  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

land  privileges  are  threatened  ;  the  form  of  the  state  is 
changing.  It  is  remarkable  too,  that  it  is  not  the  adversa- 
ries of  the  ancient  principles  who  are  bringing  them  to  the 
dust,  but  the  chiefs  themselves,  their  most  illustrious  sup- 
porters. In  this  movement,  there  are,  in  our  opinion,  some 
errors  which  ought  to  be  pointed  out  and  opposed ;  but 
there  is  also  something  which  must  run  its  course.  There  is 
a  progress  of  history,  there  are  developments  of  time  which 
no  human  hand  is  able  to  stop. 

But  if  the  state  is  changing,  will  the  church  maintain  the 
same  position  ?  Can  this  be  thought  a  possibility  ?  If  an 
edifice  has  leaned  upon  a  pillar,  and  that  pillar  has  been  re- 
moved, must  it  not  seek  another  support  ?  Tbo  support  of 
the  state  is  taken  from  the  church  of  England ;  she  must 
seek  for  strength  elsewhere,  or  her  rffin  is  not  far  off. 

This  strength  she  must  seek  in  that  faith  in  Jesus,  which 
in  her  articles  she  confesses  with  such  purity,  in  the  Chris- 
tian life  of  her  members,  and  their  sympathy  with  all  that 
concerns  her.  Her  strength  lies  no  longer  in  parliament,  or 
in  the  bench  of  Bishops ;  but  in  the  benches  of  Christian 
men,  of  Christian  families,  of  Christian  churches.  The  re- 
ligious community  must  have  strength  within  itself,  and  not 
through  the  powers  of  the  civil  community. 

The  danger  which  now  threatens  the  church  of  England 
is  one  of  the  greatest  to  which  it  has  ever  been  exposed. 
Some  of  her  most  eminent  sons  are  bowing  down  at  Rome 
before  idols ;  the  deserters  are  on  the  increase ;  most  of  her 
bishops  are  silent,  or  connive  at  this  apostasy  ;  many  even 
of  those  ministers  who  were  considered  evangelical,  though 
they  still  protest  against  Rome,  are  rushing  into  human  and 
superstitious  fancies,  which  -are  half-way  towards  Popery. 
This  is  a  deplorable  weakness,  which  would  raise  a  shudder 
among  those  holy  men  whom  this  church  once  reckoned  as 
her  leaders.  If,  while  the  state  is  accomplishing  an  im- 
mense revolution,  the  church  remains  dumb  and  motionless, 
or  clings  to  what  is  slipping  from  her  grasp  ;  if  there  is  nei- 


1 

ENGLAND.  59 

• 

ther  animation,  courage,  nor  resolution,  except  in  those  who 
are  turning  towards  the  pope ;  if  those  who  ought  to  seek 
the  salvation  of  the  church  in  the  Christian  doctrine,  in  the 
Christian  people,  in  independence  of  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
and  in  submission  to  the  King  of  Heaven,  exhibit  nothing 
but  timidity,  prejudice,  fear,  bigotry,  and  listlessness,  then 
we  must  indeed  fear,  that  the  ruin  of  the  church  of  England 
is  at  hand.  And  that  tribute  of  admiration  which  burst 
from  my  lips  the  moment  the  white  cliffs  of  Albion  rose  to 
my  view, — must  I,  alas  !  if  ever  I  return, — must  I  bestow  it 
on  her  grave  ? 

Is  the  revolution  now  going  on  in  England,  taking  a  right 
direction  ? 

I  think  that  some  revolution  was  necessary,  but  not  that 
one  which  the  politicians  of  England  propose. 

Hitherto,  in  England,  the  state  has  been  Anglican,  Epis- 
copal ;  it  has  attached  itself  to  one  special  confession,  has 
espoused  all  its  interests,  and  during  a  long  period  has  pro- 
tected it  by  oppressing  and  persecuting  all  other  Christian 
confessions.  Thus,  in  the  very  midst  of  Protestantism, 
scenes  of  intolerance  have  been  witnessed,  similar  to  those 
exhibited  in  the  middle  ages. 

It  is  now  felt  that  this  narrow  and  sectarian  system  can 
no  longer  be  the  system  of  the  state  ;  but  what  can  be  sub- 
stituted for  it  ?  an  equal  favor  of  the  state  towards  all  relig- 
ions, even  the  most  opposed  and  the  most  contradictory.  The 
state  would  thus  alike  maintain  Protestantism  and  Popery, 
Judaism  and  Islamism ;  perhaps,  even  all  kinds  of  Pagan- 
ism. If  politicians  do  not  proceed  quite  so  far  in  their  ap- 
plication, the  principles  they  profess  would  lead  to  this. 

If  the  state  seemed  at  first  too  narrow-minded,  it  now  ap- 
pears too  latitudinarian.  What  then  should  it  be  ? 

There  is  one  solution  for  which  some  on  the  Continent,  at 
least,  loudly  clamor.  It  is  proposed  that  the  state  should 
be  atheistical.  That,  indeed,  removes  every  difficulty;  but 
we  can  no  more  admit  of  this  solution,  than  of  the  other 


60  TEAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

two.  We  believe  that  the  more  a  people  and  its  govern- 
ment are  brought  under  the  influence  of  Christianity,  the 
more  their  prosperity,  both  moral  and  temporal,  will  be 
found  to  increase.  We  demand  the  self-regulation  of  the 
church ;  we  claim  her  independence  of  all  the  powers  of  the 
world :  yet  we  would  not  have  the  atheism  of  the  state, 
which  finds  defenders,  on  the  Continent  at  least,  among  men 
who  are  eminently  religious. 

Can  a  state,  placed  in  the  midst  of  Christendom,  abstract 
itself  from  a  fact  so  important  as  Christianity  ?  This  is  im- 
possible. 

If,  as  Scripture  asserts,  " Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation" 
it  means,  plainly,  not  uprightness  in  a  restricted  sense,  as 
maintained  by  police  officers,  but  that  righteousness  which 
has  for  its  basis  the  love  and  the  fear  of  God. 

Religion  cannot,  therefore,  be  an  indifferent  matter  to  a 
nation.  There  is  a  something  which  a  people  must  desire 
to  see  flourishing  among  them  ;  but  this  something  is  not  a 
particular  ecclesiastical  form,  a  particular  feature  which  dis- 
tinguishes one  sect  from  another ;  it  is  the  Christian  relig- 
ion itself. 

The  animal  wh^ch  feeds  upon  nuts  knows  how  to  crack  the 
shell,  throw  it  away,  and  feed  on  the  kernel ;  will  a  nation 
do  the  contrary  ?  Will  it  throw  away  the  inner  part  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  feed  upon  the  husks  ? 

We  do  not  require  the  state  to  be  either  episcopal,  pres- 
byterian,  or  congregationalist ;  we  do  not  see  what  advan- 
tage it  could  gain  by  this.  But  we  wish,  that  the  essential 
principles  of  Christianity  should  be  within  the  soul  of  every 
individual,  of  every  family,  of  every  institution,  and  of  the 
whole  people ;  and  among  the  people  we  reckon,  in  the  first 
place,  those  who  govern  them. 

We  do  not  think  that  either  the  episcopal,  the  presbyte- 
rian,  or  the  congregational  form,  can  impart  a  superior  in- 
fluence to  the  state, — that  is,  taking  the  word  in  its  widest 
sense,  to  the  people  at  large.  No,  it  must  be  the  very  es- 


ENGLAND.  61 

sence  of  Christianity, — divine  life,  true  evangelism.  Now, 
this  may  be  found  in  any  of  these  forms. 

If  a  king  is  called  upon  to  give  battle,  will  he,  in  order  to 
gain  the  victory,  take  a  fancy  to  some  particular  uniform, 
setting  aside  the  man  himself  with  the  strength  which  God 
has  given  him  ?  Certainly  not.  The  great  evil  of  the  church 
and  of  the  state  also,  has  been  the  preference  of  the  form  to 
the  life. 

Wherever  we  see  form  occupying  the  chief  place,  we  will 
boldly  declare  war  against  it. 

But  it  will  be  said,  If  the  state  is  not  to  attach  itself  to  a 
strictly  confessional  principle,  it  must  then  welcome  all 
creeds,  the  Roman  Catholic  in  particular  ? 

The  English  government  proposes,  they  say,  to  receive 
Popery  among  the  religions  calculated  to  make  the  British 
people  flourish  ;  and  will,  in  consequence,  enter  into  commu- 
nication with  the  pope,  and  give  salaries  to  his  clergy. 

But  if  the  Gospel  alone  can  render  a  people  prosperous, 
how  can  they  enter  into  alliance  with  its  most  deadly  foe  ? 
Are  not  the  great  principles  of  evangelical  Christianity, 
"  The  Word  of  God  alone — the  grace  of  Christ  alone — the 
regeneration  of  the  Spirit  alone,"  altogether  rejected  by 
Popery  ? 

Besides,  we  have  already  said  that  the  state  should  re- 
ceive no  form  whatsoever ;  but  is  Popery,  in  its  essence,  any- 
thing but  a  form  ?  The  external  church,  the  pope,  and  rela- 
tions with  the  pope,  are  not  these  the  chief  objects  at  Rome? 
Does  not  ecclesiasticism  hold  there  the  place  of  religion? 
does  not  legalism  take  the  place  of  morality  ? 

Let  the  state  beware !  Popery  is  less  a  religion  than  a 
state.  The  papacy  everywhere  tends  to  constitute  itself  a 
state  within  the  state.  We  know  that  it  is  yet  far  from  its 
object ;  but  let  us  be  patient !  we  are  clearing  the  road  for 
it.  With  politicians  so  short-sighted,  as  some  of  those  who 
have,  in  other  respects,  justly  acquired  the  highest  reputa- 


62  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

tion  in  Europe,  Popery  will  quickly  make  its  way.  The  state 
talks  of  finding  another  ally,  but  it  will  receive  a  master. 

Let  us,  then,  remember  Christ's  words,  "  Render  unto 
Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God  the  things 
that  are  God's."  Let  not  the  state,  like  Uzziah,  put  forth 
its  hands  to  sustain  the  ark,  even  if  the  oxen  stumble ;  but 
let  every  man  among  the  people,  and  especially  their  gov- 
ernors, seek,  each  for  himself,  that  kingdom  of  God  which 
is  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy,  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
These  will  be  the  surest  means  of  bringing  spiritual  blessings 
on  the  country.  To  the  living  church  of  Christ  belongs  the 
labor,  to  the  state  will  belong  the  fruits.  It  is  not  the  tree 
itself,  but  the  gardener  who  "  digs  about  it  and  dungs  it." 
Now,  the  gardener  of  the  state,  the  gardener  who  raises  the 
finest  fruits,  is  the  church.  I  do  not  mean  to  discuss  in  this 
place  the  exact  relations  which  should  subsist  between  the 
two  societies, — T  will  enter  into  this  when  I  speak  of  Scot- 
land,— but  I  may  say  here  that  I  like  to  distinguish  between 
the  temporal  and  the  spiritual,  and  attribute  to  each  of 
them  its  proper  sphere ;  and  that,  as  I  would  not  have  the 
church  discharge  the  functions  of  the  state,  I  would  not 
have  the  state  discharge  the  functions  of  the  church. 
"Every  one  shall  bear  his  own  burden,"  saith  the  Scripture. 

Let  but  the  church  be  what  she  ought  to  be ;  let  her 
draw  from  her  stem  a  life  of  her  own ;  let  her  develop  her- 
self with  vigor  and  independence ;  let  her  remember  that, 
like  her  Master,  she  is  come  to  minister :  then  will  fairer 
days  than  those  gone  by  be  granted  to  the  church  of  Christ 
in  England,  and  to  all  her  people.  Life  will  then  proceed 
from  the  roots,  and  the  tree  will  flourish  once  more. 

II. 

THE   ENGLISH. 

BUT  I  perceive  that  I  have  taken  too  lofty  a  flight.  I  must 
be  allowed  to  return  to  my  humble  character  of  a  traveller, 


ENGLAND.  63 

and  seat  myself  in  the  noisy  and  rapid  train,  which  bears 
me  with  the  swiftness  of  an  arrow  along  the  railroad  from 
Dover  to  London. 

On  approaching  the  capital,  my  wondering  eyes  looked 
down  from  the  carriage  into  innumerable  narrow  streets  of 
small  houses,  all  of  uniform  and  mean  appearance,  blackened 
with  coal-dust  and  shrouded  by  a  smoky  atmosphere.  Such 
is  the  gloomy  avenue  which  leads  to  the  delightful  parks  of 
the  metropolis,  its  superb  squares,  magnificent  bazaars,  and 
rich  palaces. 

What  crowds  in  the  streets,  what  bustle,  what  hurry! 
These  carriages,  public  and  private,  almost  as  numerous  as 
the  foot  passengers  ;  that  dazzling  display  of  every  produc- 
tion of  British  industry,  and  of  the  most  distant  lands; 
those  forests  of  ships,  motionless  in  their  immense  docks  ; 
the  steam-boats,  which,  like  a  weaver's  shuttle,  incessantly 
ply  up  and  down  the  Thames  with  inconceivable  rapidity, 
taking  up  and  setting  down  at  every  pier  a  fresh  cargo  of 
breathless  passengers, — every  thing  you  behold  tells  you  that 
you  are  now  in  the  capital  of  the  commercial  world. 

If  the  German  feeds  upon  the  ideal,  the  practical  is  the 
characteristic  of  Great  Britain  ;  I  say,  Britain,  because  most 
of  what  I  say  here  of  England  is  applicable  to  Scotland 
also.  Reality,  action,  business,  bear  sway  in  the  politics, 
the  industry,  the  commerce,  and,  I  will  even  say,  in  the  re- 
ligion of  the  English.  Yet  this  practical  tendency  which 
characterizes  England  is  not  selfish,  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected. The  large  scale  on  which  the  people  work  gives  a 
certain  scope  and  grandeur  to  the  imagination.  The  habit 
which  the  English  have  of  forming  into  parties,  and  of  look- 
ing constantly  at  themselves  as  a  nation,  is  opposed  to  a  nar- 
row selfishness ;  and  a  more  elevated  sentiment  struggles 
with  this  vice  in  a  large  portion  of  the  people. 

Perhaps,  one  of  the  things  that  strikes  a  stranger  the 
most  on  his  arrival  in  London,  is  not  the  nobility  but  the 
common  people ;  their  strength,  their  energy,  their  quick- 


64  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ness,  their  skill,  their  civility,  and,  above  all,  their  calmness 
and  silence  during  their  unceasing  activity.  They  are  all 
alive  to  what  they  are  about,  and  they  are  clever  at  it ;  you 
can  see  this  in  the  carriages,  the  ships,  and  especially  in  the 
railroads.  The  skill  with  which  an  English  coachman  drives 
you  through  the  streets  of  London,  among  thousands  of 
vehicles,  without  ever  jostling  you,  is  inconceivable. 

The  day  after  my  arrival  in  London,  I  visited  the  ancient 

seat  of  our  friend  M ,  built  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth. 

The  railroad  took  me  a  certain  distance,  where  I  had  to  find 

a  carriage  to  take  me  on  to  L Park ;  but  what  on  the 

Continent  might  perhaps  have  occupied  an  hour,  was  here 
done  in  an  instant.  In  less  than  a  minute  all  our  luggage 
was  lifted  from  the  train  into  the  carriage,  and  the  Fly  was 
winging  its  way  towards  the  park. 

If  I  speak  thus  of  the  common  people,  what  shall  I  say 
of  the  statesmen  of  England,  of  her  sailors,  of  her  warriors  ? 
— of  that  character  of  simplicity  and  grandeur  which  strikes 
every  impartial  beholder,  and  of  which  they  have  lately 
given  such  remarkable  instances  2*  The  constitution  of 
Great  Britain,  the  balance  of  her  powers,  the  slow  but  sure 
energy  of  the  universal  thought  of  the  people,— all  this  is 
so  beautiful,  that  we  cannot  but  recognize  the  Master-hand. 
But  I  did  not  leave  the  Continent  to  study  the  wondrous 
mechanism  of  this  state.  I,  therefore,  content  myself  with 
saluting  it  respectfully  as  I  pass  on.  I  think  myself  fortu- 
nate to  have  been  present  at  the  debates  in  the  Houses  of 
Parliament.  I  will  only  add,  that  if  the  political  institutions 
of  England,  by  conducing  to  her  power  and  glory,  have  been 
of  incalculable  benefit  to  all  mankind,  this  has  proceeded 
from  their  having  held  within  them  a  higher  living  principle, 
the  religion  of  Him  who  has  said,  "I  will  make  you  free 
indeed." 

I  observed  in  England  one  thing,  that  the  people  talk  much 
less  of  liberty  than  we  do  on  the  Continent,  but  practise  it 
*  I  allude  to  the  late  war  in  India. 


ENGLAND.  65 

more.  This  is  quite  natural :  when  we  possess  a  thing,  we 
mention  it  less  frequently  than  when  we  are  in  search  of  it. 
The  young  men,  who  play  so  important  a  part  in  Germany, 
and  even  in  France  and  other  countries,  do  not  so  in  Eng- 
land. It  is  not  for  want  of  spirit  in  the  English  youth — they 
have  even  rather  too  much ;  but  it  is  confined  in  the  pre- 
paratory sphere  of  schools  and  colleges,  and  does  not  display 
itself  in  public  business.  Influential  institutions  satisfy  this 
people.  The  young  men  know  that  their  turn  will  come, 
and  they  wait  quietly.  Among  a  people  deprived  of  public 
institutions,  vigor  is  often  misplaced ;  it  is  forced  forward  in 
youth  and  exhausted  in  riper  years.  In  England,  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  disciplined  in  youth  and  exerted  in  manhood. 
On  the  continent,  paternal  authority  is  much  shaken ;  in 
Britain,  the  parents,  generally  speaking,  know  how  to  keep 
their  children  at  a  respectful  distance  ;  and  this  is  a  great 
element  of  strength  for  a  nation.  When  the  Bible  would 
pronounce  a  threat  against  a  people,  it  says,  "  I  will  give 
them  children  to  be  their  princes,  and  babes  shall  rule  over 
them."*  This  curse  has  been  but  too  well  fulfilled  among 
many  nations.  When  the  unfortunate  Legislative  Assembly 
was  convened  in  France  after  the  Constituent  Assembly,  the 
multitude  of  extremely  young  men  was  notorious  ;  and  when 
the  president  by  seniority,  in  order  to  form  the  provisional 
committee,  called  upon  the  deputies,  who  had  not  yet  com- 
pleted their  twenty-sixth  year,  to  come  forward,  sixty  youths 
crowded  round  the  tribune,  competing  for  the  office  of  Secre- 
tary to  the  Assembly.f  This  predominance  of  youth  is  an 
evil  which,  thank  God,  is  still  far  removed  from  England. 

The  French  writers  assert  with  pride  that,  while  in  England 
there  is  liberty  but  not  equality,  in  France  there  is  equality 
but  not  liberty.^  We  cannot  help  thinking  that  England  is 
right.  God  would  have  liberty  for  all ;  but  equality,  which 

*  Isaiah,  iii.  4.  f  Les  Girondins,  by  M.  de  Lamartine. 

£  This  thesis  was  maintained  by  the  Journal  des  Debats  in  May, 
1847,  appropos  of  religious  liberty. 


66  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

would  bring  all  men  to  the  same  level,  is  but  an  idle  dream. 
No  doubt  the  French  writers  do  not  claim  equality  in  every 
respect,  but  we  regret  that  they  set  such  bounds 'to  the 
principle  of  liberty. 

It  is,  nevertheless,  in  these  very  marked  distinctions,  which 
prevent  equality,  that  one  of  England's  dangers  lies.  If  there 
is  too  much  equality  on  the  south  of  the  Channel,  there  may 
be  too  little  on  the  north.  The  distinctions  of  rank  and  for- 
tune are,  perhaps,  exaggerated  in  Britain ;  and  were  it  not 
for  that  vital  Christianity,  which  is  a  powerful  remedy  for 
this  evil,  the  whole  people  would  be  seriously  affected  by  it. 
But  the  Gospel  corrects  the  defects  of  institutions.  Before 
God  all  are  equal ;  all  have  the  same  sin,  the  same  salvation, 
whatever  be  their  intellect,  their  wealth,  or  their  rank. 
Noble  and  learned,  low  and  ignorant,  rich  and  poor,  all  say 
together,  "  Have  mercy  upon  us,  miserable  sinners."*  I  am 
aware  that  this  is  with  some  persons  a  mere  form,  but  I  also 
know  that  with  many  it  is  a  solemn  reality.  I  do  not  think 
there  is  any  aristocracy  which,  like  that  of  England,  con- 
tains so  many  nobles  who  are  men, — who  are  Christians. 

And  yet,  to  what  an  extent  are  wealth  and  aristocracy  de- 
veloped !  By  them  I  have  been  so  struck,  that  I  must  pause 
upon  these  two  features  which  characterize  Great  Britain. 

First,  as  to  her  wealth.  In  the  eighteenth  century,  England 
had  already  become  the  chief  mart  of  the  world  ;  she  is  now, 
moreover,  the  largest  workshop.  Nothing  can  be  said  against 
her  wealth  ;  it  is  the  reward  of  her  labor  and  of  her  works. 
She  wears  her  greatness  well.  Her  rich  men  make  an  ad- 
mirable use  of  the  wealth  which  God  has  entrusted  to  them. 
It  is  not  in  hundreds  or  by  thousands  of  francs,  but  in  sums 
of  twenty-five  or  fifty  thousand,  that  money  is  given  in  Eng- 
land for  benevolent  or  evangelical  purposes.  And,  more- 
over, the  men  in  Britain,  who  owe  all  their  fortune  to  them- 
selves, have  not  those  upstart  manners  so  often  met  with  on 
the  Continent.  They  are  both  great  and  simple.  They 
*  In  the  public  worship  of  England. 


ENGLAND.  67 

practise  an  amiable  hospitality,  the  charm  of  which  I  have 
often  experienced.  I  have  visited  country  seats,  adorned 
with  all  the  graces  of  architecture,  containing  spacious  and 
imposing  apartments,  and  built  in  the  most  delightful  situa- 
tions, a  flag  flying  from  their  highest  towers  ;  and  the  next 
day,  being  in  the  neighboring  town,  I  have  entered  the 
warehouse  of  the  owner,  which  he  could  survey  with  pride 
as  the  source  of  all  his  greatness,  and  found  him  unosten- 
tatiously exhibiting  his  goods  to  us,  and  cordially  pressing 
us  to  accept  some  remembrance. 

On  another  occasion,  I  was  in  what  was  almost  a  palace, 
situated  near  a  large  mercantile  town.  The  master  led  me 
from  his  villa  to  his  carriage,  and  from  his  carriage  to  his 
warehouses,  an  immense  building,  not  only  all  the  rooms  of 
which,  but  even  all  the  stories,  communicated  with  each 
other  by  a  kind  of  well,  in  which  a  movable  cabinet,  with- 
out any  fatigue  to  yourself,  carried  you  rapidly  up  or  down 
to  whatever  floor  you  desired.  This  is  a  staircase  often  met 
with  in  such  establishments,  and  very  agreeable  to  asthmatic 
patients. 

I  mentioned  another  feature.  In  Britain,  of  all  the  coun- 
tries in  the  earth,  the  nobility  have  the  most  power.  The 
king  or  queen  is  but  the  key-stone  of  the  aristocracy.  This 
aristocracy,  also,  wears  its  greatness  well.  There  is  in  the 
manners  of  the  great  ones  of  England,  a  nobleness,  a  grace, 
a  simplicity,  an  exquisite  perfume  of  sociability,  and  a  regard 
for  their  inferiors  in  the  social  scale,  which  wins  every  heart. 
There  is  among  the  English,  especially  among  the  aristocracy, 
a  physical  beauty  celebrated  all  over  the  world,  and  with 
which  the  moral  beauty  of  the  mind  is  often  in  harmony. 
These  nobles  have  not  merely,  like  those  of  some  other  na- 
tions, an  external  polish,  but  there  is  within  them  an  internal 
grace,  a  politeness  of  the  soul. 

In  other  respects  the  English  aristocracy  appears  to  me 
no  less  admirable.  When  we  behold  elsewhere  the  frightful 


68  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

tyranny  which  Radicalism  sets  up,*  we  can  understand  the 
mischief  it  would  do  in  England,  if  ever  it  were  triumphant ; 
and  we  are  inclined  to  regard  the  aristocracy,  which  there 
exercises  such  strength,  as  one  of  the  necessary  guarantees 
for  freedom.  I  was  present  eight  or  nine  years  ago  in  the 
Hanover  Square  Rooms,  at  crowded  meetings,  among  which 
were  the  flower  of  the  English  aristocracy,  the  leaders  of  the 
Tory  party ;  and  where,  on  sofas  placed  at  the  foot  of  the 
platform,  were  seated  princes  of  the  Royal  Family,  ministers 
of  state,  and  bishops.  The  speaker  who  electrified  these 
large  meetings  was  Chalmers,  that  prince  of  British  orators. 
Sometimes  energetic  words  in  favor  of  political  liberty,  and 
of  the  independence  of  the  church,  fell  from  his  burning  lips ; 
for  he  was  then  bearing  witness  in  London,  in  the  Queen's 
Concert  Room,  to  the  same  truth^  which,  five  years  after,  he 
maintained  in  the  rustic  hall  of  the  Cannon  Mills  at  Edin- 
burgh. He  alluded  to  the  saying,  so  famous  in  England, 
that  every  Englishman's  house  is  his  castle ;  he  repeated 
those  well-known  words,  that  no  one  has  a  right  to  enter  it : 
"  The  king  cannot — the  king  dare  not."  And  then,  return- 
ing suddenly  to  the  church,  he  declared  that  the  political 
power  could  not -meddle  with  her  doctrine  and  her  spiritual 
administration ;  and  thus,  taking  his  stand  as  it  were  at  the 
door  of  the  church,  he  hurled  forth  these  words,  which  re- 
sounded like  thunder  through  the  assembly :  "  The  king 
cannot — the  king  dare  not."  When  Chalmers  had  thus 
spoken  in  the  honor  of  true  liberty  before  this  English  aris- 
tocracy, think  not  that  murmurs  were  heard  around ;  no, 
there  was  unbounded  applause.  Loud  acclamations  arose 
from  this  multitude  of  noblemen  and  Tories ;  and  when  this 
cheering  had  finished,  it  began  again,  and  was  thus  three 
times  renewed.  I  then  saw  the  fine  and  venerable  head  of 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  the  queen's  uncle,  nodding  with  an 
expression  of  the  most  cordial  acquiescence.  I  was  con- 
founded. "How  magical,"  thought  I,  "is  eloquence!" — 
*  This  was  written  after  the  revolution  of  the  Canton  de  Vaud. 


ENGLAND.  69 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  I,  as  I  went  out,  to  a  Tory  friend  who 
accompanied  me,  "  that  if  on  the  Continent,  even  in  France, 
they  were  to  hear  this  applause  given,  such  homage  rendered 
to  liberty,  they  would  think  themselves,  I  am  certain,  in  a 

conventicle  of  Carbonari."  I  remember  St n's  smile  as 

he  somewhat  proudly  replied,  "  It  is  the  Tories,  who  are  in 
England  the  guardians  of  liberty." 

Liberty  is,  in  fact,  the  passion  of  every  Englishman.  What 
Tacitus  said  of  the  Britons,  is  still  characteristic  of  them. 
"  They  respect  power,  but  they  cannot  suffer  the  abuse  of  it. 
They  know  how  to  obey,  but  not  how  to  serve."* 

Such,  then,  are  these  common  people,  so  full  of  intelligence 
and  activity  ;  these  rich  men,  so  simple  and  so  generous ; 
these  nobles,  so  amiable  and  so  fond  of  liberty.  It  is  a  re- 
markable nation  which  is  the  result  of  such  an  assemblage. 
What  enthusiasm  among  all  classes  of  this  people  for  great 
ideas !  It  is  ideas,  indeed,  which  thrill  this  people  when  a 
foreigner,  whose  name  is  linked  with  some  principle  or  some 
illustration,  comes  to  visit  them.  It  matters  not  whether  he 
belongs  to  the  highest  or  to  the  lowest  degree  of  the  social 
scale.  We  know  how  they  welcomed  Marshal  Soult,  who 
had  fought  against  England,  but  who  was  in  their  eyes  the 
personification  of  French  glory ;  and  humble  and  obscure 
individuals  have  also  been  received  with  unheard  of  kind- 
ness, merely  because  their  names  were  considered  by  our  in- 
sular friends  as  attached  to  some  great  idea, — to  that,  for 
instance,  of  the  Reformation.  In  this  respect,  I  will  not  say 
merely,  that  England  surpasses  the  Continent;  there  is 
nothing  like  it  among  us.  Our  people  are,  as  it  were,  insen- 
sible and  dead,  while  the  people  of  Great  Britain  are  full  of 
feeling  and  life.  It  is  a  nation  complete  in  all  its  parts  ;  our 
nations,  in  this  respect,  are  mutilated.  It  is  true  that  Ger- 
many begins  to  present  some  manifestations  of  this  kind  ;  but 
it  is  to  be  regretted  that  they  are  not  in  the  best  of  causes. 

It  is  not  the  masses  merely,  that  give  this  warm  welcome 
%"  Ut  pareant  nondum  ut  serviant."  Tacit.  Agr.  13. 


70  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

to  a  stranger ;  what  shall  I  say  of  that  frank  hospitality 
which  is  met  with  throughout  England  and  Scotland  ?  It  is 
true,  that  in  Britain  every  house  is  more  closed  to  what  is 
without,  than  is  the  case  in  France  and  in  Germany.  But 
even  this  circumstance  gives  more  liberty  and  independence 
within.  When  once  a  stranger  is  received  into  a  house,  he 
becomes  a  member  of  the  family ;  he  meets  with  the  same 
freedom,  the  same  cordiality.  I  met  with  no  strangers  in 
England  and  Scotland ;  everywhere  I  found  friends  and 
brothers. 

In  these  houses  you  are  struck  with  the  order  and  disci- 
pline that  reigns  throughout ;  and  at  the  same  time,  if  it  is 
a  Christian  household,  with  the  excellent  spirit  that  pervades 
all.  I  have  been  occasionally  present  at  the  dwelling  of  a 
nobleman,  or  of  a  merchant,  or  of  a  bishop,  and  sometimes 
of  a  plain  minister,  at  the  morning  or  evening  worship.  You 
may  see  a  score  of  servants,  male  and  female,  come  in  to  the 
room  like  a  file  of  soldiers ;  at  the  end  of  the  march  they 
turn  round,  as  regularly  as  a  regiment  of  the  line,  and  sit 
down.  But  together  with  this  discipline,  the  gravity  of  these 
people,  their  attention,  and  the  devotion  with  which  they 
bow  the  knee  before  God,  are  something  imposing.  These 
English  households  are  the  households  of  Christian  patriarchs. 

III. 

DEFECTS. 

THOUGH  I  admire  in  many  respects  the  wealth  and  aristoc- 
racy of  Britain,  I  do  not  close  my  eyes  to  certain  abuses 
which  sometimes  arise  from  them.  Why  should  I  conceal 
them  ?  does  not  the  Bible  say,  "  Open  rebuke  is  better  than 
secret  love  ?"  This  is  the  best  friendship. 

As  we  look  at  certain  features  of  English  society,  we  can- 
not help  thinking  that  some  of  its  members  are,  so  to  speak, 
overloaded,  overwhelmed  by  the  very  weight  of  their  riches. 


ENGLAND.  71 

The  search  after  the  comfortable  and  the  fashionable  is  carried 
to  an  excess,  which  often  detracts  from  the  search  after  en- 
joyments more  intellectual,  more  spiritual,  and  more  pure. 
Houses,  clothes,  the  table,  plate,  equipages,  powdered  foot- 
men, are  all  made  and  organized  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
attract  attention  and  even  surprise ;  and  one  of  the  pleasures 
of  the  nobility  and  gentry  is  to  drive  every  day  through  Re- 
gent Street,  Hyde  Park,  and  elsewhere,  with  a  parade  of 
horses,  carriages,  and  liveries.  This  is  beneath  such  a  peo- 
ple. True,  my  opinion  is  only  that  of  a  foreigner,  and  I 
merely  state  my  doubts  to  the  children  of  Britain.  I  speak 
freely  of  their  faults,  but  it  is  for  them  to  decide ;  I  accept 
by  anticipation  the  verdict  of  the  wise  among  their  own 
people. 

It  has  always  appeared  to  me  that  there  is  in  all  this  a 
certain  littleness  of  mind,  and  that  England  would  be  greater 
without  her  fashionable  slavery.  One  wonld  think  that,  in 
order  to  buy  their  liberty  hi  the  gross,  the  English  make 
themselves  slaves  in  detail — slaves  to  fashion.  The  queen, 
powerless  among  her  people,  is  an  autocrat  in  her  court. 

What  brings  so  many  English  families  to  the  Continent  ? 
Various  motives,  no  doubt ;  but  frequently  the  fear  of  not 
being  able  to  shine  in  England  as  much  as  their  equals. 
There  is  a  tendency  among  certain  Englishmen  to  estimate  a 
man,  not  by  his  intrinsic  qualities,  by  his  intellectual  or  moral 
worth,  but  by  his  fortune  and  his  rank.  Wealth  is  with  them 
the  chief  of  merits ;  and  when  they  wish  to  know  a  man's 
standing  in  society,  they  ask,  "  What  is  he  worth  ?"  The 
sum  of  his  wealth  is  also  the  sum  of  his  value.  When  a 
party  is  assembled  in  one  of  the  fine  drawing-rooms  of  the 
aristocratic  towns  of  England,  and  when  dinner  is  announced, 
the  master  of  the  house  generally  points  out  to  each  of  the 
gentlemen  the  lady  to  whom  he  is  to  offer  his  arm,  to  lead 
her  to  the  dining-room.  All  this  is  arranged  with  great  care, 
according  to  rank  and  fortune  ;  •  and  sometimes,  very  seldom 
no  doubt,  the  stranger  has  to  go  in  the  last.  We  must,  how- 


72  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ever,  except  the  houses  of  the  high  aristocracy.  In  England, 
the  greater  they  are,  the  more  regard  they  exhibit  towards 
the  little.  The  foreigner  nowhere  meets  with  so  much  atten- 
tion and  kindness  as  in  the  fine  mansions  of  the  earls,  mar- 
quises, and  dukes  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

With  these  worldly  defects,  which  I  have  now  pointed 
out,  even  Christians  have  been  reproached,  and  we  have 
perhaps  reason  to  inquire  how  far  the  reproach  is  deserved. 
Much  has  been  said  of  the  worldly,  the  fashionable  Chris- 
tianity of  England.  We  must  observe,  in  the  first  place, 
that  it  is  not  only  among  the  nobility  that  such  Christianity 
is  to  be  found  ;  and  we  must  even  add,  that  in  the  highest 
families  of  England,  there  are  instances  of  piety,  spirituality, 
and  of  true  simplicity,  which  are  scarcely  to  be  found  else- 
where. 

Nevertheless,  a  real  danger  exists.  Wealth  and  grandeur 
are  two  elements  not  in  exact  harmony  with  true  Christianity. 
This  the  Scriptures  themselves  declare.  These  two  circum- 
stances throw  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  Christian  life.  The 
renunciation  of  self,  of  the  world,  and  of  its  pomps  and 
vanities,  must  be  essential  to  true  piety.  "  They  that  are 
Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh  with  its  affections  and  lusts  ;" 
and  the  Word  of  God  savs  to  all,  "  Mortify,  therefore,  your 
members  which  are  upon  the  earth."  Those  Christians  who 
are  living  in  the  midst  of  abundance,  and  in  the  high  places 
of  society,  must  have  more  difficulty  in  fulfilling  such  com- 
mandments, and  consequently  need  a  greater  degree  of  watch- 
fulness. 

But  we  may  sometimes  go  too  far,  and  require  from  them 
things  which  the  Word  of  God  docs  not  demand.  On  the 
one  hand,  the  Christian  should  make  a  decided  separation 
between  Christianity  and  the  world  ;  yet,  on  the  other,  the 
world,  considered  as  the  creation  of  God,  ought  not  to  be 
entirely  rejected.  It  is  only  necessary  that  all  things  should 
be  made  new.  The  natural  faculties  of  man  should  not  be 
annihilated,  but  sanctified,  glorified,  and  devoted  to  God. 


ENGLAND.  73 

The  natural  gifts  of  God  are  not  to  be  despised,  as  an  ex- 
treme puritanism  may  do,  but  enjoyed  with  "  giving  of 
thanks,"  as  St.  Paul  says.  When  we  behold  the  riches  of 
the  creation  which  David  enumerates  in  the  104th  Psalm, 
we  have  only  to  exclaim  with  him,  "  Bless  the  Lord,  0  my 
soul !" 

Puritanism  or  ascetism  rejects  the  enjoyments  of  the  nat- 
ural life,  because  it  considers  them  as  tainted,  saturated 
with  sin.  Doubtless,  "  the  whole  world  lieth  in  wickedness," 
but  this  is  one  side  of  Christianity  ;  there  is  another  which 
says,  "  Ye  are  bought  with  a  price  ;  therefore,  glorify  God 
in  your  body  and  in  your  spirit,  which  are  God's."  Puritan- 
ism does  not  perceive  with  sufficient  clearness  that  this  re- 
demption is  universal ;  that  it  is  for  the  body  as  well  as  for 
the  spirit ;  and  that  it  is  to  be  realized  in  every  phase  of  the 
natural  life.  There  is  nothing  which  is  not  capable  of  being 
redeemed  ;  even  riches,  and  nobility  are  so :  they  are  to  be 
redeemed  and  consecrated  to  God. 

We  may,  it  is  true,  be  too  precipitate  in  this  business. 
Puritanism  is  right  not  to  yield  too  hastily  to  this  glorifica- 
tion of  the  whole  life.  If  we  hurry  forward  in  this  work,  it 
may  only  prove  at  last  a  vain  imagination.  The  renewing 
of  our  nature  is  not  to  be  accomplished  in  a  day ;  we  must 
go  on  progressively,  step  by  step.  There  are  some  natures 
especially,  which  require  to  remain  a  long  time  in  the  lower 
degrees.  The  foundation  of  repentance,  of  conversion,  of 
faith,  and  of  spiritual  baptism,  must  be  well  laid,  before,  as 
St.  Paul  says  to  the  Hebrews,  we  "go  on  to  perfection." 

Puritanism  is,  therefore,  right  in  insisting  upon  the  work 
of  renewal,  and  in  fixing  the  mind  upon  it.  When  I  speak 
of  Puritanism,  I  ask  myself  whether  it  still  exists  in  Eng- 
land ?  whether  it  has  not  fallen  under  the  influence  of  na- 
tional developments,  and  the  sneers  of  novelists  ?  whether, 
in  fine,  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  go  back  to  the  seven- 
teenth century  in  order  to  meet  with  it  ?  or  whether  the 
Oxford  asceticism  has  not  now  taken  its  place  ?  Yet  if,  with 
4 


74  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

the  Gospel,  we  must  insist  on  the  necessity  of  dying  to  the 
world,  we  must  still,  with  faith,  advance  towards  life,  to  that 
life  which  in  God  enjoys  all  lawful  blessings.  The  fault  of 
puritanism  and  asceticism  consists  in  hurling  against  an  or- 
der of  things  (which  proceeds  from  the  Creator,  and  which 
ought  to  be  brought  back  to  God,)  an  interdict  too  pitiless, 
and  an  excommunication  too  general.  Thus,  Protestant  pu- 
ritanism and  Roman  asceticism  easily  assume  the  appearance 
of  a  forced  piety  and  of  a  mere  profession  of  Christianity. 
No  doubt,  with  regard  to  the  things  of  this  life,  we  should 
neither  buy,  sell,  possess,  nor  enjoy,  but  with  moderation 
and  watchfulness.  We  should  "  use  this  world  as  not  abus- 
ing it :  for  the  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away."*  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  sinful  to  despise  and  reject  the  gifts 
of  God,  and  it  is  not  even  allowable  to  treat  them  with  in- 
difference. They  are,  in  truth,  "  seducing  spirits,"  who  teach 
"  doctrines  of  devils,"  who  "  forbid  marriage,  and  command 
us  to  abstain  from  meats,  which  God  hath  created  to  be  re- 
ceived with  thanksgiving  of  them  which  believe  and  know 
the  truth.  For  every  creature  of  God  is  good,  and  nothing 
to  be  refused,  if  it  be  received  with  thanksgiving,"! 

Christianity  must  be  carried  into  every  sphere  of  human 
existence, — into  literature  and  science,  into  domestic  and 
public  life,  into  commerce,  into  the  navy  and  army,  and  into 
politics.  And,  perhaps — let  us  do  England  this  justice — 
perhaps  there  is  no  nation  which  so  well  responds  to  this 
divine  call.  Of  all  lives,  the  Christian  life  is  the  most  do- 
mestic, the  most  social,  the  most  literary,  the  most  scien- 
tific, for  it  is  of  all  lives  the  most  humanizing.  This  is  what 
one  of  its  earliest  apologists  incessantly  repeated  to  the  Pa- 
gans. "  We  remember,"  says  Tertullian,  "  that  we  ought  to 
give  thanks  to  God,  and  we  refuse  no  work  of  his  hand.  We 
are  not  without  a  forum,  not  without  markets,  not  without 
workshops ;  we  live  in  the  same  age  with  you.  We  navi- 
gate, we  make  war,  we  farm,  we  trade  with  you.  We  are 

*  1  Cor.  vii.  31.  f  l  '^m- iv-  1— 4- 


ENGLAND.  75 

your  brethren  by  the  law  of  nature ;  we  have  the  same  mo- 
ther."* There  is,  I  repeat  it,  no  other  nation — and  this  is 
England's  highest  glory — in  which  we  see  Christianity  car- 
ried so  truly,  and  often  so  decidedly,  into  every  station  of 
life, — into  the  peasant's  cottage  and  on  board  the  ships  of 
Avar,  behind  the  counter  and  amidst  the  camp,  into  the  work- 
shop and  the  halls  of  the  universities,  into  the  offices  of  the 
lower  clerks  and  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  into  the  humble 
abodes  of  the  poor  and  the  cabinet  council.  This  is  right. 
It  was  necessary  for  the  salvation  of  the  world  that  the 
Word  should  be  once  made  manifest  in  the  flesh,  and  that 
this  miracle  should  be  continually  renewed  in  a  spiritual 
sense.  We  may  say  that  Christianity  is  truly  made  man  in 
England. 

But  here,  we  say  again,  lies  the  danger.  This  spiritual 
and  legitimate  secularization  of  the  Gospel  in  Britain,  is  a 
reaction  against  the  extreme  puritanism  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  The  human  mind  rushes  willingly  from  one  extreme 
to  another.  If  slavery  to  fashion  and  the  display  of  vanity 
are  faults  even  in  the  worldly,  how  much  more  so  are  they 
in  true  Christians.  There  must  be  oil  in  the  lamp !  Let 
England  therefore  beware. 

I  have  to  point  out  another  of  the  dangers  of  grandeur 
and  opulence.  There  is  something  patriarchal  in  the  im- 
mense possessions  of  the  English  and  Scotch  nobility ;  in 
those  estates  covered  with  inhabitants ;  in  those  populations 
which  depend  entirely  on  their  lords,  and  who  might  be 
their  fathers.  How  much  good  has  been  done  and  is  still 
doing  by  these  lords,  by  their  wives,  and  by  their  daugh- 
ters ;  how  many  churches  and  schools  have  been  erected  at 
their  expense !  How  often  have  angels  of  Christian  charity 

*  Meminimus  nos  gratiam  debere  Deo,  nullum  fructum  operum  ejus 
repudiamus.  Itaque  non  sine  foro,  non  sine  macello,  non  sine  officiis ; 
cohabitamus  vestrum  nos  saeculum.  Navigamus,  militamus,  rusticamur, 
et  mercatus  miscemur.  Fratres  etiam  vestri  sumus,  jure  naturae,  matris 
unius.  (Tertul.  Apolog.) 


76  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

been  seen  gliding  into  humble  cottages,  carrying  consolation, 
assistance,  and  even  instruction !  Nothing  of  this  kind  is  to 
be  seen  to  the  same  degree  in  other  countries. 

Nevertheless,  these  large  properties  of  the  nobility,  which 
sometimes  entirely  exclude  the  small  proprietors,  produce  a 
melancholy  impression.  When  I  have  been  walking  in  one 
of  those  beautiful  English  parks,  so  fresh  and  verdant,  so 
dotted  with  stately  trees,  so  charming  with  the  graceful  undu- 
lations of  the  soil  and  with  their  beautiful  lakes,  I  occasion- 
ally felt  an  indescribable  sadness.  I  saw  nothing  but  foli- 
age upon  foliage ;  the  only  sign  of  life  was  the  cawing  of 
the  rooks,  necessary  inhabitants  of  these  velvet  glades. 
"  Oh,  who  can  restore  me,"  thought  I,  "  those  smiling  habit 
tations,  the  delightful  hamlets,  the  lively  villages  of  my  own 
Switzerland  ?"  I  gazed  anxiously  around,  trying  to  discover 
among  the  trees  the  appearance  of  a  roof ;  and  could  I  but 
perceive  the  slightest  trace,  I  ran  forwards  that  I  might  see 
some  peasant,  man  or  woman — some  symptom  of  life ! 

This  is  still  more  striking  in  Scotland.  You  may  travel 
for  miles  through  the  Highlands,  without  meeting  other 
inhabitants  than  thousands  of  sheep  feeding  in  solitude. 
"  Were  I  in  Switzerland,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  these  hill-sides 
would  be  divided  among  several  small  owners :  here  would 
be  a  farm,  there  a  chalet,  and  everywhere  the  animation  of 
a  free  people."  Yet  there  are  exceptions.  When  I  drew 
near  that  charming  site  at  the  extremity  of  Loch  Tay,  close 
by  the  romantic  Kenmore,  on  which  rises  the  stately  palace 
of  the  Breadalbanes  (many  Genevese  will  remember  that 
the  present  Marquis  of  Breadalbane,  then  Lord  Glenorchy, 
visited  their  city  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago),  I  was 
delighted  to  find  the  country  dotted  with  pretty  cottages, 
covered  with  roses,  and  to  see  healthy,  ruddy  children,  play- 
ing before  their  smiling  homes.  It  was  like  an  oasis  created 
by  the  beneficence  of  a  Christian  lord.  But  in  general  there 
is  a  desert.  It  is  not  long  since,  instead  of  the  system  of 
small  farms,  the  landlords  have  substituted  large  ones, 


ENGLAND.  77 

and  the  unfortunate  small  farmers,  finding  themselves  out- 
bid, have  been  obliged  to  forsake  their  beloved  mountains, 
and  emigrate  either  to  the  Antipodes,  to  New  Holland, 
or  to  throw  themselves  into  the  ever  open,  ever  devouring 
gulf  of  the  manufacturing  towns  of  England  or  Scotland. 
It  often  happens  that  one  lord  is  the  sole  proprietor  of  a 
whole  county,  from  one  sea  to  another ;  and  he  can,  as  has 
often  been  done  within  these  few  years,  refuse  the  Chris- 
tians who  inhabit  his  estate,  a  site  of  thirty  feet  square  in 
which  they  may  worship  God.  It  would  be  a  glorious  task 
for  the  statesmen  who  preside  over  the  destiny  of  Great 
Britain,  and  whom  no  difficulties  can  deter,  to  seek  some 
legal  means  of  establishing  small  properties  in  Scotland,  and 
delivering  the  country  from  the  oppression  of  a  few  lairds. 

I  have  already  said  that  the  opulent  merchants  and  man- 
ufacturers of  England  wear  their  riches  well.  How  can  I 
recount  all  that  is  admirable  in  those  mercantile  and  manu- 
facturing towns,  which  sixty  years  ago  were  perhaps  mere 
villages,  and  Avhich  are  now  among  the  most  powerful  cities 
in  the  world  ?  Certainly  the  inhabitants  may  well  have  a 
feeling  of  pride ;  and  that  feeling  is  a  right  one,  when  ac- 
companied with  gratitude  to  God.  Not  without  great  vir- 
tues could  such  prosperity  have  arisen.  Whether  we  con- 
sider those  ports  filled  with  ships  from  every  quarter  of 
the  globe,  among  which  tower,  Colossus-like,  those  floating 
islands  moved  by  steam  :  or  whether  we  contemplate  those 
vast  manufactories  in  which  the  productions  of  the  earth  are 
so  rapidly  transformed,  and  where  hundreds  of  workmen  and 
thousands  of  machines  are  going  on  with  wonderful  order, 
activity,  noise,  and  calmness,  you  certainly  see  before  your 
eyes  one  of  the  finest  spectacles  that  man  can  behold.  I 
remember  a  short  trip  I  made  with  an  excellent  friend  from 
Liverpool,  to  visit  that  immense  steam-ship,  the  Great 
Britain,  then  lying  in  the  docks  of  that  city.*  I  still  fancy 

*  Since  wrecked  on  the  Irish  coast,  whence,  after  twelve  months,  it 
was,  by  immense  exertion,  floated  off  and  towed  back  to  Liverpool. 


78  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

I  can  see  the  forests  of  masts  of  the  ships  which  filled  the 
basins,  and  the  universal  and  perpetual  bustle  which  the 
Roads  presented.  One  seems  at  such  a  moment  to  be  placed 
in  a  situation  whence,  as  from  an  exceeding  high  mountain, 
we  can  behold  "  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  the  glory 
of  them:"  and  that  the  whole  earth  is  brought  before  our 
view,  with  the  ships  that  cover  it,  with  its  towns,  its  shores, 
and  its  most  distant  islands.  From  Liverpool  Roads  we 
survey  the  globe. 

Yet  here,  also,  there  is  a  reverse  to  the  medal ;  let  us 
then  turn  it.  What  a  contrast  is  exhibited  between  the  smi- 
ling meadows  of  England,  and  the  fresh  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land, with  the  manufacturing  cities  !  When  we  walk  through 
these  dirty  towns  covered  with  coal-dust,  whence,  instead 
of  the  elegant  spires  of  our  Gothic  steeples  pointing  to  the 
skies,  nothing  but  gigantic  chimneys  soar  towards  heaven ; 
when  we  are  surrounded  by  a  stifling  atmosphere,  incessantly 
fed  by  volumes  of  smoke  vomited  forth  from  the  blackened 
mouths  of  these  tall  and  formal  pyramids,  and  heavily  de- 
scending again  in  clouds  upon  factories  and  houses,  and  ob- 
scuring the  light  of  day ;  when  we  see  the  population  of  the 
country  crowding  into  these  narrow  and  unwholesome  streets » 
oh,  we  would  rather  a  hundred  times  that  these  poor  families 
should  have  remained  in  their  fields,  cultivating  and  enliven- 
ing them,  peopling  them  with  a  healthy  and  vigorous  youth, 
and  making  them  resound  with  their  pious  hymns ! 

What,  alas !  is  the  fate  which  in  such  large  cities  awaits 
these  humble  country  people,  either  with  regard  to  their  phy- 
sical or  their  moral  existence  ?  There  is  no  country  in  which 
so  much  is  done  for  the  poor  as  in  England  :  legal  charity 
perhaps  even  goes  too  far.  Numerous  Christian  and  philan- 
thropic societies  are  instituted  to  afford  aid  to  all  kinds  of 
misery.  More  is  done  for  this  purpose  in  England  than  on 
the  whole  of  the  Continent  put  together,  and  yet  the  evil  is 
not  checked.  You  may  sometimes  see  one  of  those  rich  and 
brilliant  streets  of  London  slowly  traversed  by  a  human  form, 


ENGLAND.  79 

pale,  dirty,  frail,  and  tottering :  is  it  man  or  woman  ?  one  can 
hardly  tell.  This  phantom,  a  type  of  the  lowest  wretched- 
ness, has  come  from  its  abode,  perhaps  only  a  few  paces  off, 
iu  some  close  alley  hidden  behind  these  stately  mansions  ;  and 
made  its  appearance  in  another  world,  as  if  to  accuse  it  the 
more  fearfully  from  its  very  silence.  I  remember  one  day 
passing  through  the  Strand,  one  of  the  busiest  streets  of  the 
capital,  when  I  saw  stopping  before  a  splendid  provision 
warehouse,  in  which  all  the  most  tempting  delicacies  that 
luxury  could  furnish  were  displayed,  one  of  these  human 
forms,  dressed  in  a  coat  which  had  once  been  black,  with 
shapeless  hat  and  listless  arms,  trembling  legs,  and  hollow 
cheeks,  and  eyes,  though  sunken,  yet  fixed  with  longing  look 
upon  those  exquisite  dainties,  from  which  only  a  thin  pane 
of  glass  separated  him.  The  rich  display  in  its  gilded  frame, 
and  that  living  skeleton  !  here,  in  two  strokes,  is  the  picture 
of  London. 

Not  far  from  thence  I  heard  one  day  in  St.  Dunstan's 
church,  1  think  the  most  eloquent  preacher  of  the  metropolis 

as  regards  the  form  of  his  discourses.     Mr.  M 's  sermon 

was  the  history  of  a  young  man.  He  took  him  from  the  cra- 
dle in  the  fields  of  his  birth-place  :  we  beheld  him  growing 
and  improving,  happy  and  joyous  in  the  midst  of  his  family  : 
when  he  was  setting  out  for  the  capital,  we  heard  the  dis- 
course of  his  father  and  his  mother ;  he  embraced  them,  and 
departed  full  of  the  best  resolutions.  He  arrived  in  London : 
he  resisted  the  first  time  the  seductions  of  young  men  of  his 
own  age ;  but  he  was  not  so  firm  the  sedond  time.  His 
struggles,  his  remorse,  his  backslidings  were  all  painted  in 
the  most  striking  colors.  At  length,  seized  by  sickness,  the 
reward  of  his  misconduct,  we  saw  him  on  his  death-bed,  rest- 
less, terrified,  expiring  without  hope  :  he  carried  his  whole 
auditory  into  hell  itself,  and  showed  them  the  wretched 
youth  crying  out,  "Mountains  fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from 
the  wrath  of  the  Lamb !"  Alas,  how  often  has  this  dismal 
history  proved  a  sad  reality  ! 


80  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  of  England  is  the  want  of  instruc- 
tion for  the  people ;  an  omission  on  the  part  either  of  the 
church  or  of  the  state.  There  are,  doubtless,  Christian  ef- 
forts by  which  they  endeavor  to  supply  it ;  and  these  efforts, 
I  say  again,  infinitely  surpass  all  similar  ones  made  else- 
where. Much,  very  much  has  been  done,  and  yet  these  are 
but  insufficient  palliatives.  Even  the  rivalry  of  the  different 
Christian  communions  sometimes  opposes  the  good  they 
would  wish  to  do.  Not  long  since  we  received  a  visit  from 
a  very  distinguished  member  of  parliament,  closely  connected 
with  a  statesman  who  some  years  ago  was  at  the  head  of  the 
British  government.  He  came  to  the  Continent  for  the  pur- 
pose of  studying  elementary  instruction.  I  sent  him  to  the 
Director  of  the  Normal  School  of  Lausanne,  with  whom  he 
was  much  pleased.  Since  that  time,  we  have  had  many 
visits  of  the  same  kind ;  every  one  feels  that  something  ought 
to  be  done :  yet,  notwithstanding  the  most  powerful  means 
of  action,  and  the  most  earnest  and  sincere  desires  ;  notwith- 
standing even  the  most  valuable  labors,  the  English  have  not 
yet  succeeded  in  finding  a  sufficiently  efficacious  remedy  for 
the  physical  and  moral  wretchedness  of  the  poor.  I  am  not 
the  only  one  who  sees  this  state  of  things  in  such  dark  colors. 
"  A  former  will  not  is  punished  by  a  present  cannot"  says  a 
Christian  Protestant  writer,  Dr.  Sack ;  and  another,  the 
Abb6  Dr.  Luke,  exclaims  at  the  sight  of  this  evil :  "  Oh, 
what  a  shadow  in  the  bright  picture  of  English  life  !  An 
ecclesiastical  institution,  stiff,  liturgical,  technical,  and  epis- 
copal if  you  will,  but  without  a  well-informed  people,  without 
a  living  flock — where,  I  ask,  where  can  this  lead  to  ?" 

IV. 

PIETY   AND    DUTY. 

AND  yet,  if  there  is  now  the  will,  I  cannot  allow  that  there 
is  no  longer  the  power.  There  would  be  the  power  to  rem- 


ENGLAND.  81 

edy  this  evil,  if  the  influential  men  of  England  were  to  unite 
in  trusting  to  Him  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  I  can  do  all  things 
through  Christ,  who  strengtheneth  me." 

Now,  most  politicians  in  England  show,  it  is  true,  but  little 
liking  to  the  Gospel ;  yet  there  is  something  in  the  people 
which  can  still  inspire  much  hope,  and  this  is  the  power  of 
religious  feeling,  and  of  Christian  principle,  so  strong  in 
Britain. 

It  may  be  said,  that  the  people  of  Britain  have  more  con- 
scientiousness than  any  other.  I  mean  a  true  consciousness 
of  what  they  ought  to  be  according  to  the  will  of  God. 
Knowledge,  science,  is  the  idol  of  the  Germans,  and  they 
know  more  perhaps  than  any  other.  Honor  is  the  idol  of 
the  French,  and  none  have  heaped  up  so  many  military  tro- 
phies. The  British  have  an  instinctive  feeling  of  a  vocation 
they  have  received  from  above,  of  a  talent  intrusted  to  them, 
which  is  to  be  made  available  over  the  whole  earth,  and  they 
go  forward  in  this  work  with  enthusiasm  and  perseverance. 
There  is  yet  much  to  be  done  in  this  respect.  Interests,  en- 
tirely temporal,  and  quite  opposed  to  justice,  too  often  pre- 
dominate in  the  nation  ;  and  several  melancholy  instances  of 
this  might  be  adduced.*  For  England  to  attain  to  her  high 
calling,  conscience  must  become  the  moving  principle  of  her 
people,  and  the  religion  of  the  Gospel  the  soul  that  animates 
the  nation.  It  is  in  individuals  that  this  work  must  com- 
mence ;  but,  as  soon  as  it  is  within  the  individual,  it  will  ex- 
hibit itself  in  the  whole  mass.  If,  even  in  our  own  times, 
we  have  beheld  in  this  nation  great  inconsistencies ;  if  the 
most  eminent  men  have  been  but  "  reeds  shaken  by  the 
wind  ;"  if  they  have  rushed  from  one  extreme  to  another  ; 
and  such  glaring  apostasies  have  moved  the  whole  people ; 
it  is  because  the  primary  principle — the  Christian  basis  was 
wanting.  It  is  not  of  the  corn  laws,  but  of  the  religious 
questions  that  I  speak. 

There  is  no  people  to  whom  religion  is  so  necessary  as  to 
*  In  China,  for  example. 


82  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

the  British.  The  material,  agricultural,  manufacturing,  and 
mercantile  interests  are  so  predominant,  that,  were  not  relig- 
ion to  counterbalance  them,  the  nation  would  be  undone. 
The  energetic  activity  which  distinguishes  the  Britons  ;  those 
gigantic  enterprises  that  characterize  them ;  the  founding  of 
an  immense  empire  in  India ;  the  gates  of  China,  which  her 
powerful  hand  has  wrenched  open  ;  that  creation  of  Austra- 
lia ;  those  expeditions  to  the  poles  and  to  every  climate  ;  that 
abolition  of  the  slave-trade  and  of  slavery  itself, — all  these 
giant-like  labors  require  that  a  pure  religion  should  animate 
the  people,  that  oil  should  be  always  pouring  into  the  lamp, 
and  that  a  truly  moral  force  should  inspire,  moderate,  and 
direct  all  these  efforts.  If  the  Britons,  and  even  the  Ger- 
mans, are  much  better  colonizers  that  the  French,  and  the 
nations  under  the  Papal  rule,  it  is  to  the  Gospel  that  they 
are  indebted  for  it.  Neither  is  this  all.  Even  the  admirable 
political  institutions  of  Britain  have  need  of  the  rule  of  faith  ; 
the  liberal  in  politics  should  be  conservative  in  religion.  If 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  notwithstanding  their  many 
elements  of  disorder  and  dissolution,  are  not  only  still  in  ex- 
istence, but  increasing  more  and  more  in  power  and  impor- 
tance, it  is  because  they  are  the  sons  of  the  Puritans. 

From  the  very  moment  that  England  begins  to  yield  ;  nay, 
from  the  moment  she  ceases  to  press  onward  in  religion,  we 
think  she  will  decline  towards  her  abasement,  perhaps  to 
her  ruin.  Evil  elements  are  not  wanting.  She  possesses,  to 
a  greater  extent  perhaps  than  any  other  country,  a  low,  im- 
pious, and  impure  literature ;  and  the  efforts  made  to  diffuse 
it  among  the  people  are  very  great.  If  once  the  mighty 
floodgates,  which  religion  and  morality  oppose  to  those  in- 
famous publications,  are  thrown  down,  the  torrent  will  break 
forth  and  overwhelm  the  whole  nation  with  its  poisonous 
waters. 

Yet,  though  we  wish  that  England  should  improve,  we  do 
not  shut  our  eyes  to  her  excellencies.  I  know  of  no  mani- 
festations of  Christianity  more  attractive  than  those  I  have 


ENGLAND.  83 

met  with  in  some  of  the  ministers  and  evangelical  Chris- 
tians of  the  church  of  England.  The  essential  principles  of 
Christian  truth  are  by  none,  perhaps,  maintained  with  so 
great  a  purity,  and  so  indomitable  a  firmness.  Yet,  at  the 
same  time,  there  is  in  these  friends  something  so  spiritual,  so 
heartfelt,  so  full  of  grace,  in  short,  that  you  are  subdued  by 
them.  I  know  not  whether  even  the  defects  of  their  church 
are  not  advantageous  to  them.  The  church  is  imperfect,  the 
ecclesiastical  bond  is  weak,  no  one  scarcely  has  any  thing 
to  say  about  church  government.  This,  with  many  minis- 
ters and  members  of  the  church,  is  productive  of  serious 
inconveniences  ;  yet  Hhe  result  is,  with  others,  that  their 
whole  being  is  turned,  as  it  were,  towards  God.  That 
Christian  piety  which  is  diffused  over  all  the  world,  pos- 
sesses in  the  Episcopal  church  of  England  some  of  its  noblest 
representatives. 

Eight  or  nine  years  ago  I  spent  a  Sunday  in  Cambridge. 
The  dean  of  Trinity  College,  who  had  afforded  me  hos- 
pitality, took  me  to  Trinity  Church,  of  which  he  was  the 
pastor,  and  placed  me  in  his  pew.  Another  person  entered 
it  ,shortly  after.  As  he  wore  the.  university  costume  I  took 
him  for  a  student,  or,  at  most,  a  Master  of  Arts.  When  the 
service  commenced,  my  neighbor  reverently  knelt  down  and 
began,  according  to  custom,  to  repeat  the  prayers  in  a  low 
voice.  Never  shall  I  forget  those  humble  and  pious  accents ; 
every  one  of  them,  coming  from  his  inmost  bosom,  sank  into 
my  own.  I  seemed  to  have  entered  the  closet  in  which  an 
elect  soul  was  communing  with  his  Saviour.  Never,  per- 
haps, have  I  spent  an  hour  more  truly  edifying.  When  the 
prayers  were  finished,  I  looked  at  my  neighbor  with  devout 
regard ;  I  was  wondering  who  he  could  be,  when  I  saw  him 
rise,  go  towards  the  pulpit,  and  ascend  it  for  the  sermon.  It 

was  Mr.  B ,  who  was  then  on  a  journey  for  the  Church 

Missionary  Society,  in  which  he  took  and  still  takes  an  inter- 
est no  less  lively  than  that  which  he  has  subsequently  shown 
in  the  cause  of  Christian  union.  I  understand  how  he  can 


84  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

compose  so  many  admirable  works  upon  Prayer,  on  the 
Lord's  Supper,  &c.,  from  which  so  many  souls  have  been  re- 
freshed as  from  Jacob's  Well.  He  is  in  my  opinion  one  of 
the  types  of  a  good  evangelical  English  clergyman. 

But  it  is  not  merely  of  these  chosen  ones  that  I  would 
here  speak  ;  it  is  of  the  people.  There  is  among  them  a  uni- 
versal religious  feeling,  a  general  awe  of  the  name  of  God, 
of  the  Invisible  Judge.  Does  this  arise  from  nationality,  or 
from  the  different  Christian  communions  to  be  found  in  it  ? 
I  know  not — but  even  during  the  time  when  Deism  had  in- 
vaded a  certain  portion  of  society,  it  could  never  entirely 
efface  the  deep-seated  feeling  of  the  holiness  of  the  divine 
law.  Infidelity  in  England  was  grave,  and  often  moral ; 
while  in  France  it  was  habitually  riotous  and  dissolute.  We 
must,  however,  in  justice  acknowledge,  that  there  is  a  small 
nation  on  the  frontiers  of  France,  in  which  this  riotous  prin- 
ciple has  been  found,  perhaps  even  in  greater  strength,  than 
among  her  more  powerful  neighbors This  feel- 
ing of  the  holiness  of  the  Law  of  God  of  which  I  speak,  per- 
haps more  particularly  distinguishes  the  Christianity  of  Eng- 
land from  that  of  other  evangelical  nations.  There  the  doc- 
trine of  free  grace  is  certainly  proclaimed  as  well  as  else- 
where ;  but  the  respect  shown  to  the  divine  law  is  still  more 
striking.  Duty  is  an  idea  but  too  much  forgotten  among  us, 
while  in  England  it  is  all  important.  This  nation,  so  power- 
ful and  so  haughty,  bows  before  the  thought  of  duty.  It 
was  Nelson's  signal  to  his  fleet  at  Trafalgar :  "  England 
expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty" — and  every  man  did  it.* 

One  of  the  features  which  most  completely  brings  out  the 
character  of  British  Christianity,  is  the  observance  of  the 
Lord's  Day,  or  the  Sabbath  as  they  term  it,  I  think  improp- 

*  The  Duke  of  Wellington,  being  asked  if  he  had  seen  a  French 
criticism  on  the  fourteen  volumes  of  his  Dispatches,  replied  in  the  nega- 
tive, and  inquired,  "  What  do  the  French  say  of  them  1"  He  was  told, 
that  the  reviewer  remarked  the  word  glory  did  not  once  occur,  but  that 
duty  frequently  did. 


ENGLAND. 


erly.  It  is  the  custom  of  continental  travellers,  even  of 
Christian  ones,  to  complain  loudly  of  the  servile  and  exag- 
gerated observance  of  the  day  of  rest  in  Britain,  and  of  all 
the  annoyances  it  causes  them.  I  shall  not  do  .so.  I  cer- 
tainly cannot  undertake  to  defend  all  the  ideas  that  have 
been  put  forward  upon  this  subject  by  our  insular  friends, 
and  all  the  applications  they  have  drawn  from  them ;  but  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  this  submission  of  a  whole  people 
to  the  law  of  God,  is  something  very  impressive,  and  is  prob- 
ably the  most  incontestable  source  of  the  many  blessings  that 
have  been  showered  on  the  nation.  Order  and  obedience, 
morality  and  power,  are  all  in  Britain  connected  with  the 
observance  of  the  Sunday.  Amidst  the  activity  which  per- 
vades all  things,  the  bustle  of  the  towns,  and  the  energy 
with  which  the  inhabitants  pursue  their  earthly  callings,  what 
would  become  of  them  had  they  not  a  day  of  rest  in  which 
to  recruit  themselves,  and  laying  aside  things  temporal 
which  are  seen,  to  look  forward  to  things  eternal  which  are 
unseen?  (2  Cor.  iv.  18.) 

A  mighty  struggle  is  now  going  on  in  this  cause  ;  and  at 
the  head  of  those  who  stand  up  for  the  maintenance  of  re- 
ligious principles  and  national  manners,  is  Sir  Andrew  Ag- 
new,  a  worthy  Scotchman,  to  whom  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
being  introduced.  Many  meetings,  at  which  he  presided, 
have  been  held  in  Edinburgh,  in  favor  of  the  sanctification 
of  the  Lord's  Day,  now  so  violently  threatened.  The  rail- 
roads, like  a  terrible  battering-ram,  are  incessantly  striking 
against  this  ancient  stronghold  of  the  Christian  habits  of 
Britain.  In  Scotland,  there  is  no  travelling  on  most  of  the 
railroads  on  Sundays ;  but  on  that  from  Glasgow  to  Edin- 
burgh, in  which  English  shareholders,  who  assert  that  all 
days  are  alike,  are  more  numerous,  two  special  trains  had 
been  kept  up  on  that  day,  to  carry  the  mails  before  and  after 
divine  service.  The  Christians  did  not  abandon  their  cause, 
and  at  last  they  gained  the  victory.  When  I  was  in  Scot- 
land it  had  not  yet  been  won  ;  and,  in  the  meanwhile,  Chris- 


86  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

tians  abstained  from  travelling  on  that  line.  As  we  were 
leaving  Edinburgh,  a  Christian  lady,  who  was  to  have  ac- 
companied us  to  Fairlie,  beyond  Glasgow,  told  us  that  she 
would  take  the  stage  coach  to  the  latter  town.  When  I  ar- 
rived in  Glasgow  by  the  railroad,  I  went  with  a  friend  to  the 
coach  office  ;  the  lady  had  not  arrived.  "  But  what  advan- 
tage is  there,"  said  I,  "  in  using  this  slow  conveyance,  when 
it  sets  out  much  sooner  and  arrives  much  later ?"  "The 
train,"  replied  the  friend  who  was  with  me,  "runs  on  Sun- 
days, and  we  only  use  it,  even  on  week-days,  in  cases  of 
necessity.  The  coach  does  not  go  on  Sundays,  and  there- 
fore we  prefer  it."  Thus,  while  the  railroads  were  every- 
where driving  the  stage  coaches  off  the  roads,  this  zeal  for 
the  sanctification  of  the  Lord's  Day  still  kept  them  up  be- 
tween Edinburgh  and  Glasgow.  Unfortunately,  this  is  not 
the  case  in  England.  Not  only  do  the  trains  run  on  Sun- 
days, but  a  considerable  reduction  in  the  fares  is  often  made 
on  that  day  ;  thus  offering  temptations  to  the  common  peo- 
ple, who,  for  a  trifling  sum,  can  thus  transport  themselves  to 
a  considerable  distance  to  engage  in  their  diversions.  In  a 
meeting  held  at  Edinburgh,  on  the  27th  of  February,  1846, 
it  was  stated  that  there  were  no  fewer  than  600  different 
trains  running  on  Sundays  in  various  parts  of  England,  and 
that  sometimes  they  are  so  long  that  they  need  six  engines 
to  draw  them  (the  famous  and  terrible  train  of  Versailles  had 
only  two) ;  that  they  have  sometimes  consisted  of  147  car- 
riages, carrying  1710  passengers,  and  reaching  the  length 
of  half  a  mile.  There  are  now  to  be  spn  in  the  streets 
placards  with  gigantic  letters,  announcing  that  pleasure 
trains  will  run  on  Sunday  at  half  price.  Certainly,  this  is 
enough  to  justify  the  saying  of  a  Christian  of  German  Swit- 
zerland, an  old  federal  colonel,  who  used  to  say,  "  Our  Lord, 
when  he  appeared  in  the  world,  came  on  foot ;  the  devil, 
when  he  comes,  will  travel  by  the  railway."  Yes,  no  doubt,  if 
a  remedy  is  not  found  out  for  this  evil,  immorality  and  dis- 
order will  be  brought  into  England  by  these  new  roads.  The 


ENGLAND.  87 

old  British  habits  are  disappearing.  This  claims  the  earnest 
attention  of  the  friends  of  religion  and  of  their  country. 

The  English  people  might,  doubtless,  throw  off  the  yoke 
of  Sabbath  observance;  as  they  have  abolished  the  corn 
laws.  Sad  manifestations  sometimes  break  forth  on  this  sub- 
ject in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  even  in  the  House  of 
Lords  !  But  we  believe  that  the  British  nation  is  too  much 
interested  in  preserving  it,  lightly  to  throw  away  the  keeping 
of  the  Lord's  Day.  Though  to  many  it  may  be  a  yoke,  they 
will  bear  it  without  repining,  convinced  that  by  discipline 
alone  liberty  can  be  preserved  among  a  people.  To  those 
of  our  continental  friends  who  complain  of  the  strict  forms 
they  meet  with  in  Britain,  we  would  reply,  "  Do  you  not  see 
it  is  at  the  price  of  these  very  forms,  that  this  people  pos- 
sesses such  great  political,  and  religious  freedom  ?  You  on 
the  Continent  are  more  lax  in  regard  to  religious  institutions  ; 
you  smile  at  these  strict  forms  :  but  you  have  either  no  lib- 
erty at  all,  or  you  have  only  its  excesses."  Where  there  is 
much  public  freedom,  each  individual  must  watch  over  him- 
self. Great  characters  are  not  to  be  formed  without  severe 
discipline.  We  say  again,  the  severity  of  England  as  to  the 
Lord's  Day  and  other  institutions,  is  in  our  eyes  an  essential 
feature  of  the  national  character,  and  an  imperative  condition 
of  the  greatness  and  prosperity  of  her  people. 

I  must  here  point  out,  although  the  association  may  ap- 
pear singular,  another  manifestation  of  a  very  different  kind, 
but  opposed,  like  the  Sunday  trains,  to  this  principle  of  re- 
spect for  the  divine  law,  which  has  hitherto  been  one  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  English  nation.  I  mean  Puseyism. 
In  fact,  the  essence  of  Puseyism  is  to  set  up  the  law  of  the 
church  above  the  divine  law ;  the  traditions  of  men  above 
the  Word  of  God.  I  have  elsewhere  shown  the  principal 
features  of  the  Oxford  theology,*  and  will  not  repeat  what  I 
have  there  written.  I  shall  only  add,  that  two  of  the  great- 
est dangers  which  threaten  England  are,  worldliness,  which 
*  "  Geneva  and  Oxford." 


88  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

by  means  of  the  railroads  endeavors  to  make  the  law  of  the 
flesh  prevail  over  the  law  of  God  ;  and  Puseyism,  which 
with  the  aid  of  surplices,  and  a  few  paltry  traditions,  seeks 
to  overturn  the  law  of  the  Lord  by  the  law  of  the  church. 
The  latter  of  these  manifestations  is,  in  my  view,*no  better 
than  the  former.  Let  us  hope  that,  in  both  cases,  the  sin- 
cere attachment  of  the  British  people  for  the  holy  law  of 
God  will  obtain  the  victory. 

V. 

THE    ARTICLES   AND   THE    ORATORS. 

THERE  are  two  elements  essential  to  a  church ;  the  one 
fixed,  and  always  the  same ;  the  other  active,  and  always 
new :  the  former  is  the  doctrine,  the  latter  the  life.  These 
two  elements  are  to  be  found  in  a  remarkable  degree  in  the 
Church  of  England.  The  former  manifests  itself  in  its  arti- 
cles of  faith,  the  latter  in  all  its  Christian  societies. 

The  Thirty-nine  Articles  have  often  been  attacked.  It 
has  been  asserted,  that  by  maintaining  them  the  church  puts 
a  stop  to  every  spontaneous  manifestation  of  faith,  and  de- 
stroys all  spiritual  freedom ;  the  signing  of  them  has  been 
looked  upon  as  a  mere  matter  of  form,  a  superstition,  an  act 
of  hypocrisy. 

We  must  own,  that  in  certain  cases  these  reproaches  may 
have  some  foundation.  The  Articles  presuppose  a  certain 
degree  of  Christian  experience  :  if  there  are  men  who  have 
not  realized  this  experience,  and  who,  nevertheless,  sign  the 
Articles,  there  is  indeed  on  their  part  either  illusion  or  hy- 
pocrisy. They  ought  to  consider  these  Articles  as  the  very 
voice  of  God,  calling  upon  them  to  look  into  their  own 
hearts,  and  to  examine  themselves  upon  the  faith  professed 
by  the  church ;  and  they  ought  not  to  sign  them,  so  long  as 
this  confession  is  not  the  real  expression  of  then-  own  per- 
sonal faith. 


ENGLAND.  89 

As  for  those  who  know  what  salvation  in  Christ  really 
is,  what  harm  can  the  Articles  do  them  ?  None !  indeed, 
rather  the  reverse.  Every  true  Christian  has  a  spiritual  life, 
an  inward  history,  composed  of  distinct  phases — faith,  re- 
pentance, justification,  and  conversion,  sanctification,  peace, 
joy,  and  hope.  It  is  requisite,  both  for  the  sake  of  others 
as  for  his  own,  that  he  should  profess  the  great  doctrines  to 
whteh  his  inner  life  corresponds.  Poor  and  ignorant  Chris- 
tians— and  these  are  the  greater  number — would  not  know 
how  to  do  this.  If  the  church  to  which  they  belong  pre- 
sents to  them  an  evangelical  confession  of  faith,  at  once 
plain  and  profound,  it  renders  them  a  very  useful  assistance. 
Theologians  could,  no  doubt,  without  a  creed  easily  give  ut- 
terance to  their  faith ;  but  we  must  think  first  of  the  poor 
and  simple  of  the  flock,  of  those  of  whom  the  Lord  said, 
"  I  thank  thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that 
thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and 
hast  revealed  them  unto  babes."* 

Men  of  the  world  regard  the  Articles  of  Faith  of  the 
Reformation  as  antiquated  forms,  become  unmeaning  in  the 
present  age.  This  error  arises  from  their  having  never  ex- 
perienced in  their  hearts  that  faith  in  Christ  which  is  the 
same  in  every  age.  Those  confessions  of  Christian  hope 
which  our  fathers  made  even  in  the  face  of  Rome,  and  for 
the  sake  of  which  so  many  martyrs  have  ascended  the  scaf- 
fold, can  never  grow  old,  can  never  lose  that  divine  fire 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  imparted  to  them.  It  has  been  said, 
"  The  Articles  are  useless  to  the  church,  the  Bible  is  suffi- 
cient." But  most  frequently,  at  least  upon  the  Continent, 
those  who  will  not  have  confessions  of  faith,  will  not  have 
the  Bible  either.  Very  lately,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
Protestant  clergymen  of  Germany,  Dr.  Ammon,  first  preacher 
of  the  court  at  Dresden,  a  rationalist,  but  yet  an  enlightened 
theologian,  made  this  candid  avowal :  "  Experience  teaches 

*  Matt.  xi.  25. 


90  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

us,  that  those  who  reject  a  creed,  will  speedily  reject  the 
Holy  Scriptures  themselves." 

Of  all  the  churches  of  the  Reformation,  (with  the  excep- 
tion of  Scotland),  the  Church  of  England  is  that  in  which 
Articles  of  Faith  bear  the  most  important  part,  ^he  beau- 
tiful creeds  of  the  church  of  the  fourth  century  (the  Nicene 
and  the  Athanasian)  form  a  part  of  her  worship  ;  and  it  is 
to  be  regretted  that  there  is  not  some  period  of  the  year  in 
which  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  are  not  also  publicly  read  in 
the  churches.  The  importance  given  to  doctrine  in  the 
Church  of  England  is  her  safeguard.  Without  it,  she  would 
long  ago  have  fallen  beneath  the  assaults,  not  of  rationalsm, 
but  of  traditionalism  and  superstition.  Let  the  ministers 
and  the  members  of  the  church  set  forth  and  maintain  once 
more  the  purest  doctrines  of  grace,  as  contained  in  the  Bible, 
and  stated  in  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  ;  let  them  raise  on 
high  and  firmly  wave  that  glorious  standard,  and  the  evil 
spirits  will  flee  away. 

But  while  the  fixed  element,  the  doctrine,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Church  of  England :  life,  the  active  element,  is  not 
wanting.  I  should  be  afraid  of  the  former  element  if  the 
latter  were  not  there.  The  creed  alone  might  impose  upon 
religion  a  stiffness  and  a  monotony,  which  would  be  its  ruin. 
But  in  a  community  where  both  the  fixed  and  the  active 
energies  are  united,  these  two  contrary  elements  control  each 
other.  They  are  both  equally  essential  to  every  Protestant 
church.  It  has  sometimes  been  said,  that  doctrine  is  the 
characteristic  of  the  Romish  church,  and  life  that  of  the  Re- 
formed churches.  This  is  false  :  doctrine  in  Rome  is  but  a 
secondary  element ;  the  primary  thing  with  her  is  Rome 
itself, — the  papacy,  the  hierarchy.  In  my  opinion,  it  is  these 
two  agents  united,  doctrine  and  life,  which  form  the  charac- 
teristic of  Protestantism.  It  is  essentially  a  religion  of  life, 
— of  that  life,  of  which  it  is  said  in  the  Word,  "  In  him  was 
life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men  :"*  a  life  with  all  its 
*  John,  i.  4. 


ENGLAND.  91 

varieties  and  multifarious  effects.     "  To  be  spiritually-minded 
is  life."f 

There  is  no  country  in  which  this  vitality  is  so  manifested 
as  in  Great  Britain.  The  character  of  the  people,  at  once 
energetic  and  practical,  will  not  allow  them  to  make  a  mere 
play  of  spiritual  matters.  Action  immediately  follows  affec- 
tion. All  the  religious  and  philanthropic  societies  of  Eng- 
land are  but  the  manifestations  of  life.  They  are  the  fruits 
with  which  a  vigorous  sap  covers  the  tree  of  faith.  It  is 
true  that  this  vital  element  has  not  reached  perfection,  either 
in  the  Church  of  England  or  in  her  dissenting  churches. 
There  is  still  much  to  be  done,  but  we  must  acknowledge 
what  already  exists.  If  the  national  spirit  exhibits  itself  in 
secular  matters,  by  the  vast  colonization  which  encircles  the 
globe ;  by  those  bold  and  distant  conquests  which  bend  be- 
neath the  dwellers  on  the  Thames,  those  of  the  Ganges,  the 
Indus,  the  Cavery,  and  the  Burhampooter  :  by  that  immense 
trade  which  transports  and  exchanges  the  productions  of  the 
whole  earth, — the  Christians  of  England  have  not  remained 
behind  in  spiritual  matters,  and  their  extensive  missions  have 
followed  their  merchants,  their  colonists,  their  armies,  whith- 
ersoever they  have  gone  forth. 

Never  do  the  labors  of  Christian  vitality  appear  in  Eng- 
land in  a  more  imposing  form  than  in  the  great  public  meet- 
ings which  are  held  in  London,  especially  in  the  month  of 
May.  If  the  world,  if  the  despisers  of  the  Sunday,  have 
their  monster  trains ;  the  worshippers  of  Jesus  Christ  have 
their  monster  meetings,  if  I  may  call  them  so  ;  and  these  are 
no  doubt  the  most  remarkable  manifestations  of  the  religious 
spirit  of  Britain.  Certainly,  the  thing  most  worthy  of  admi- 
ration is  not  the  meetings  of  those  societies,  but  their  labors 
and  their  acts.  The  Bible,  Missionary,  Tract,  and  Christian 
Instruction  Societies,  with  many  others,  are  the  highest  glory 
and  the  chief  strength  of  England.  Not  only  has  she  taken 
the  lead,  but  she  has  nowhere  been  outstripped.  The  re- 
|  Rom.  viii.  6. 

* 


92  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ports  of  these  societies  are  everywhere  ;  you  have  read  them 
over  and  over  again.  It  will  therefore  be  more  interesting 
to  give  you  a  description  of  Ifceir  meetings. 

To  speak  in  that  immense  area  of  Exeter  Hall,  to  four 
thousand  auditors, — nay,  four  thousand  impassioned  audi- 
tors,— who  reply  by  acclamations  to  the  least  word  that  finds 
an  echo  in  their  hearts,  is  no  trifle,  especially  to  foreigners. 
The  remarkable  capacity  of  the  English  and  the  Scotch  for 
speaking  well,  clearly,  and  eloquently,  is  known  to  every 
one.  This  is  in  some  degree  a  natural  gift,  but  it  is  partly 
also  an  acquired  one.  Every  son  of  Britain  grows  up  in  the 
midst  of  public  life.  Every  one  accustoms  himself  to  think 
clearly,  and  to  express  forcibly,  whatever  is  essential  in  all 
things.  Besides  this,  the  English,  those  at  least  who  speak 
in  these  meetings,  are  familiar  with  the  two  great  treasuries 
from  which  all  elegant  diction  and  eloquence  is  drawn  :  the 
one  is  the  Bible,  the  other  is  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics. 
The  art  with  which  these  assemblies  are  prepared,  the  con- 
tinued progress,  the  animated,  onward  march  which  the 
leaders  seek  to  impress  upon  them  ;  the  appearance,  at  one 
time  of  a  Syrian,  at  another  of  a  North  American  Indian, 
now  of  a  New  Zealander  or  of  a  Chinese,  in  the  full  cos- 
tume of  their  respective  countries,  and  each  making  a  speech 
in  his  turn,  like  others  (I  was  myself  confounded  with  these 
orators  from  the  different  parts  of  the  world)  ;  the  art  with 
which  the  most  powerful  speakers  are  generally  reserved  for 
the  conclusion — all  these  things  render  the  meetings  overpow- 
ering and  wonderful.  If  I  were  asked  which  affords  the 
most  exquisite  enjoyment  to  the  mind ;  the  intimate  conver- 
sations in  a  German  study,  where  three  or  four  eminent  the- 
ologians assemble,  with  -whom  the  mind  freely  ranges  over 
the  highest  regions  of  thought ;  or  these  stupendous  meet- 
ings, in  which  the  souls  of  the  auditory  are  drawn  on  by  an 
orator  as  in  a  race,  are  subdued  with  him,  and  then  on  a 
sudden  carried  away  amidst  shouts  and  acclamations, — were 
I  to  be  asked  which  of  these  two  enjoyments  I  prefer,  really 


ENGLAND.  93 

I  should  not  know  on  which  side  the  balance  would  incline ; 
but  were  I  to  judge  of  the  intensity,  or  rather  the  enthusi- 
asm of  enjoyment,  I  think  I  should  decide  in  favor  of  the 
London  or  Scottish  meetings.  Oh,  how  much  do  we  live  in 
those  few  hours  !  how  do  our  hearts  burn  within  us  !  And 
yet,  after  those  volcanic  explosions,  and  those  streams  of 
burning  lava  which  flow  in  torrents,  it  must  be  owned,  some- 
thing more  calm  and  more  intimate  is  salutary,  and  we  love 
to  return  to  "the  waters  of  Shiloahthat  go  softly."  (Isaiah, 
viii.  6.) 

I  will  not  mention  all  the  admirable  orators  whom  I  have 
heard  in  England  and  Scotland  ;  the  list  would  be  too  long. 
But  if  I  must  give  the  names  of  the  lions  of  eloquence,  I 
would  point  in  Scotland  to  Chalmers,*  whose  profound  intel- 
lect and  ardent  heart  are  displayed  through  the  medium  of  a 
diction  of  fervid,  I  would  even  say,  of  Scottish  energy, — Chal- 
mers, whose  lips  utter  flames  and  fire,  so  that  in  spite  of  an 
accent  so  strongly  provincial  as  to  be  almost  unintelligible  to 
us,  the  foreigner  loses  not  one  of  his  expressions,  for  the  soul 
of  the  orator  reveals  what  his  organ  seems  to  conceal, — 
Chalmers,  who  fearlessly  throws  himself  into  the  most  diffi- 
cult subjects,  because  wherever  this  great  orator  bends  his 
steps  a  ray  of  light  springs  up,  and  makes  all  clear, — Chal- 
mers, the  most  powerful  soul  that  was  ever  made  subservient 
to  the  most  lucid  and  vigorous  intellect.  I  would  next  name 
Dr.  C ;  at  first  grave,  severe,  abrupt,  letting  his  sen- 
tences fail  with  a  certain  monotony,  appearing  torpid,  almost 
asleep ;  then  all  at  once  bursting  like  a  shell  amidst  the  as- 
sembly, moving  heaven  and  earth,  and  leaving  all  his  audi- 
tory crushed  and  shattered  by  the  thunders  of  his  eloquence. 

I  would  name  also  the  Rev.  T.  G ,  smiling,  jesting, 

scattering  flowers  around  you,  and  then  soaring  like  an  eagle 

*  I  had  intended  giving  the  initials  only  of  this  eminent  Christian's 
name ;  but  as  he  has  since  fallen  asleep  in  the  Lord,  I  shall  be  acquit- 
ted of  indiscretion  if  I  make  him  an  exception  to  the  rule  I  have  gener- 
ally observed  in  this  volume. 


94  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

from  these  gay  parterres,  among  "which  you  thought  he 
would  leave  you,  and  carrying  you  with  him  to  the  highest 
heavens. 

In  England,  I  would  name  Dr.  H.  M'N ,  one  of  the 

most  commanding  figures  I  ever  met  with  in  that  country, 
taking  his  stand  before  his  auditory  like  a  general,  or  like  a 
king ;  with  unembarrassed  air,  dealing  his  blows  manfully  on 
every  side,  sometimes  not  sparing  in  his  admirable  archness 
even  the  friends  that  are  sitting  beside  him,  and  carrying 
away  his  hearers  with  wonder  at  the  elegance  of  his  style- 

I  would  mention  the  Rev.  H.  S ,  in  the  pulpit  simple  and 

gentle  as  a  lamb,  but  as  soon  as  he  steps  upon  the  platform 
he  suddenly  becomes  a  lion :  head,  hands,  and  feet,  are  all 
in  motion ;  you  fancy  you  can  see  his  very  mane  rising  on 
end.  But  it  is  not  a  mere  physical  agitation  that  animates 
him  ;  and,  as  the  stamp  of  Pompey's  foot  upon  the  ground 

caused  soldiers  to  arise  from  it,  so  do  S 's  starts  and 

stamps  bring  forth  armies  which  subdue  his  auditors.  Last- 
ly, I  would  name  B.  N ,  that  man  so  noble  and  so  simple  ; 

whose  look  is  so  candid,  and  whose  soul  so  heavenly ;  who, 
when  he  begins,  appears  an  unruffled  sea  lying  in  the  deepest 
tranquillity.  But,  stay!  little  by  little  the  waters  move, 

N 's  soul  grows  warm,  the  wind  of  heaven  descends  and 

blows,  the  speaker  abandons  himself  to  it  without  restraint, 
he  mounts  up  to  the  skies,  and  rises  aloft  in  the  midst  of 
lightnings.  The  calm  is  changed  to  a  sublime  tempest,  and 
you  feel  that  it  is  not  only  on  the  surface,  but  to  the  very 
depths  of  the  abyss,  that  the  sea  is  stirred. 

You  may  judge  of  the  enjoyment  I  received  from  my  trav- 
els, when  I  say  that  all  these  men,  and  many  more  besides, 
of  talents  perhaps  not  less  remarkable,  welcomed  me  as  a 
friend  and  a  brother;  and  that  some  among  them  have 
afforded  me  hospitality,  so  that  I  could  enjoy  in  their  homes, 
and  at  their  tables,  for  several  days,  the  charms  of  their  most 
intimate  conversation.  I  shall  only  add,  that  all  these 
speeches  are  extempore ;  this  it  is,  doubtless,  which  consti- 


ENGLAND.  95 

tutes  their  beauty.     More  than  once  I  have  seen  Mr.  N , 

for  instance,  arrive  at  a  meeting  in  the  middle  of  the  pro- 
ceedings. His  entrance  might  be  perceived  by  a  murmur  of 
pleasure  running  through  the  assembly,  if  not  by  noisy  ac- 
clamations. Immediately  one  of  the  secretaries  would  go  to 
him,  and  hand  him  a  card,  on  one  side  of  which  was  written 
the  motion  which  they  requested  this  powerful  orator  to 

second.     N would  listen  for  a  few  moments  to  what  was 

going  on,  as  if  he  would  make  a  note  of  it,  and  then  taking 
out  his  pencil,  and  turning  the  card,  would  write  six  or 
eight  words  upon  the  back.  This  was  the  skeleton  of  the 
speech  he  was  about  to  make.  Soon  after  he  would  rise  to 
speak,  and  a  remarkable  production  of  the  human  mind  would 
proceed  from  these  scanty  elements. 

If  the  orators  of  Britain  surpass  those  of  the  Continent  when 
on  the  platform  (as  they  call  it),  I  cannot  say  as  much  of  them 
when  they  are  in  the  pulpit.  Here  they  are  inferior,  if  not 
to  the  continental  preachers,  at  least  to  themselves.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say,  however,  that  their  preaching  is  not  excel- 
lent. I  heard  in  London,  in  the  month  of  July,  Mr.  B.  N 

deliver  ode  of  the  clearest,  the  most  scriptural,  and  the  most 
eloquent  discourses,  upon  the  assurance  of  salvation,  that  I 
had  ever  heard  in  England ;  and  I  was  the  more  struck  by 
it,  as  a  newspaper  affirmed  the  very  next  day,  I  think,  after 
this  eloquent  display,  that  Mr.  B.  N preached  very  in- 
different sermons.  At  any  rate,  the  editor  could  not  have 
been  at  St.  J 's  Chapel  on  that  day. 


VI. 

UNION    AND    SEPARATION. 

MANY  of  the  Exeter  Hall  meetings  are  composed  of  Chris- 
tians of  different  denominations.  This  brings  me  to  one  of 
the  objects  of  my  journey  to  England  and  Scotland,  which 
was  to  promote  the  grand  idea  of  the  union  of  all  Christians 


96  TRA%rELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

of  every  denomination,  if  they  but  love  and  confess  Jesus 
Christ  as  God  and  Saviour. 

At  Liverpool,  I  was  present  at  a  breakfast,  of  five  to  six 
hundred  covers,  where  Christians  of  all  communions  assem- 
bled for  the  first  time  ;  and  similar  meetings  took  place  in 
almost  all  the  towns  of  England  and  Scotland  through  which 
my  friend  and  I  passed.  We  were  brethren  from  the  Con- 
tinent, strangers  to  their  disputes,  and  all  joined  with  one 
accord  to  receive  us.  This  was  one  of  the  most  pleasing  in- 
cidents of  our  journey. 

The  breakfast  at  Liverpool  was  very  animated  ;  speeches 
succeeded  one  another  with  lively  rapidity ;  and  it  was  beau- 
tiful to  witness  that  mercantile  population  bursting  forth  in 
the  most  enthusiastic  manner  at  every  religious  idea.  I  expe- 
rienced in  other  places  the  same  enjoyment,  and  everywhere 
felt  a  happiness  of  which  even  few  Englishmen  are  able  to 
partake.  I  have  come  in  contact,  not  only  in  private  con- 
versation, but  also  on  public  occasions,  with  Christians  of 
every  different  communion.  At  Manchester,  Bath,  Bristol, 
London,  and  elsewhere,  I  was  called  upon  to  speak,  as  at 
Liverpool,  before  numerous  assemblies,  at  one  time  exclu- 
sively episcopal  and  national,  at  another  exclusively  inde- 
pendent, and,  occasionally,  mixed.  Nay,  more,  I  was  re- 
ceived with  equal  cordiality  by  men  occupying  the  most  dif- 
ferent situations.  At  Fulham,  on  the  delightful  banks  of 
the  Thames,  in  that  palace  which,  for  seven  or  eight  centu- 
ries, has  been  inhabited  by  the  Bishops  of  London,  being  in- 
troduced to  the  present  bishop  by  one  of  those  ecclesiastics 
in  his  diocese  for  whom  he  has  the  highest  esteem,  the  Rev. 

R.  B ,  I  was  entertained  with  to  aching  hospitality  at 

the  table,  and  among  the  clergy  of  that  eminent  and  active 
prelate.  And  nearly  at  the  same  time,  in  the  library  of  the 
Congregational  churches,  in  the  house  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society,  I  took  my  seat  among  the  Independents, 
who  cordially  invited  me  to  a  dinner,  at  which  presided  our 
respected  friend,  Sir  Culling  Eardley  Smith,  and  at  which 


ENGLAND.  97 

were  present  some  of  the  missionaries  who  had  escaped 
from  the  savage  invasion  of  Otaheite. 

Being  invited  by  the  Dean  of  Westminster,  the  son  of  the 
celebrated  Wilberforce,  and  now  Bishop  of  Oxford,  to  at- 
tend the  too  pompous  cathedral-service  in  that  magnificent 
abbey,  and  to  sit  down  at  his  family  table,  which  has  lost  its 
loveliest  ornament,  I  proceeded  thither  at  the  usual  hour. 
Here  I — a  Presbyterian  minister — was  conducted  by  one  of 
the  officials  to  the  canons'  stalls ;  and  I  could  not  show 
greater  bigotry  by  refusing,  than  they  had  done  by  leading 
me  thither.  After  the  sermon,  and  before  his  dinner,  the 
dean  took  me  round  the  vast  pile,  and  pointed  out  to  me 
the  most  remarkable  objects  jt  contains.  I  noticed  espe- 
cially the  Halls  of  Convocation,  in  which  the  Anglican 
clergy  assemble  to  no  purpose  ;  and  the  tomb  of  the  great 
Wilberforce,  one  of  the  most  interesting  monuments  in  the 
abbey,  and  which  had  a  more  particular  attraction  in  my 
eyes ;  and  that  statue,  so  characteristic  and  so  animated, 
with  the  design  of  which  all  of  us  are  familiar.  There  was 
indeed  something  striking  in  the  son  being  stationed  there, 
the  guardian,  as  it  were,  of  his  father's  tomb.  But  almost 
at  the  same  time,  as  I  was  walking  with  the  dean  through 
the  long-drawn  aisles  and  beneath  the  fretted  roofs  of  West- 
minster, the  English  Presbyterians  invited  me  to  a  hall  in 
the  city — to  one  of  those  monster  breakfasts,  where  tea 
and  coffee  speedily  make  way  for  animated  speeches,  cor- 
dially responded  to  by  the  acclamations  and  the  applause  of 
the  guests,  until  the  hour  of  business,  eleven  or  twelve 
o'clock,  obliges  them  to  disperse. 

I  was  at  the  Hanover  Square  Rooms,  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Foreign  Aid  Society,,  founded,  for  the  most  part,  by  the 

activity  of  our  friend  Mr.  R.  B ,  and  consisting  entirely 

of  members  of  the  national  church,  and  which  has  already 
done  so  much  good  on  the  Continent.  There  I  spoke  before 
a  numerous  and  select  assembly,  composed  chiefly  of  the 
English  aristocracy  ;  and  I  also  went  to  Finsbury  Chapel, 
5 


98  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

the  largest  dissenting  meeting-house  in  London,  then  filled 
with  an  immense  crowd,  where  I  stood  upon  an  elevated 
platform,  among  the  most  eminent  of  the  English  Noncon- 
formists. My  hand  clasped  their  hands,  my  prayers  min- 
gled with  theirs,  and  on  that  very  day  was  founded  a  new 
Auxiliary  Nonconformist  Society  for  the  Continent  of  Europe. 

Christian  union,  as  I  have  already  said,  was  one  of  the 
chief  subjects  of  my  speeches  during  my  journey  through 
England  and  Scotland ;  but  I  thank  God  that  I  was  enabled 
to  do  more  than  speak  about  it.  I  was  able  to  practise  it. 
It  is  a  cause  which  continues  to  engage  all  my  sympathy ; 
and  may  it  please  God  to  remove  the  many  obstacles  which 
it  meets  with,  and  which  it  has  still  to  encounter,  from 
churchmen  too  bigoted,  nationalists  too  timid,  and  dissenters 
too  ardent !  I  will  add,  may  God  also  preserve  it  from  ideas 
too  exclusive  on  the  part  of  its  own  friends ! 

There  are  indeed  manifestations  most  opposed  to  this 
union.  But  these  manifestations  (Puseyism,  for  instance, 
which  is  in  our  time  the  most  prominent  event  in  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Anglican  church,)  are,  as  I  think,  but  phases  of 
this  great  work  of  union, — phases  natural  and  even  necessary. 

When,  after  a  period  of  spiritual  death,  (as  was  the  case 
in  England  during  the  earlier  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,) 
the  Christian  life  begins  to  revive,  all  vital  Christians  feel 
themselves  drawn  together ;  whatever  be  the  different  de- 
nominations to  which  they  belong,  they  feel  themselves 
united.  This  is  what  happened  in  England  at  the  period  of 
the  foundmg  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  and  during  the 
following  years.  It  is  well  known  that  this  society  proposed 
to  give  admission  to  members  of , all  religious  communions. 

But  a  period  of  separation  succeeded  to  this  time  of  union. 
Each  Christian  gradually  became  more  attached  to  the  par- 
ticular church  form  to  which  he  belonged.  The  Nationalist 
became  more  national,  the  Dissenter  more  dissenting,  the 
Episcopalian  more  episcopal,  the  Presbyterian  more  presby- 
terian,  the  Wesleyan  more  Wesleyan,  the  Congregationalist 


ENGLAND.  99 

more  congregational,  the  Baptist  more  Baptist,  the  Calvinist 
more  Calvinistic,  the  Arminian  more  Arminian.  It  would 
be  unjust  to  attribute  this  narrow  mindedness,  this  sectarian 
movement,  to  any  one  church :  it  is  to  be  found  in  every  de- 
nomination, among  dissenters  as  well  as  among  churchmen. 
At  first  it  was  the  Word  and  the  Spirit  of  God  alone  which  act- 
ed together  on  every  heart,  and  this  action  was  everywhere 
alike.  Now,  the  history  of  each  church,  her  traditions,  her 
antecedents,  her  special  doctrines  are  at  work ;  but  as  this 
operation  is  infinitely  diversified,  it  divides  instead  of  uniting. 

There  is  in  this  latter  action  something  natural,  something 
even  allowable,  if  kept  within  certain  bounds ;  but  it  is  easily 
carried  to  an  extreme,  and  this  is  what  has  everywhere  hap- 
pened. 

The  Episcopalians,  for  instance,  after  having  felt  the  infi- 
nite value  of  Christian  truth  which  belongs  to  all  evangelical 
communions,  may  without  impropriety  attach  a  certain  value 
to  their  own  special  form,  their  episcopacy.  This  is  done 
by  the  evangelical  Episcopalians,  and  no  pious  and  wise 
Presbyterian  or  Congregationalist  can  blame  them  for  it. 

But  many  have  not  contented  themselves  with  this.  They 
have  abandoned  Christian  liberty  to  rush  into  the  servile 
ways  of  a  narrow  ecclesiastical  system.  From  certain  prin- 
ciples, which  in  their  eyes  are  absolutely  true,  they  have 
drawn  most  merciless  deductions.  Misapprehending  the  na- 
ture of  the  true  church,  which  is  "  the  general  assembly  of 
the  first-born,  which  are  written  in  heaven,"  (Heb.  xii.  23,) 
the  internal,  spiritual,  and  invisible  church,  they  have  pro- 
ceeded to  set  up  in  her  stead  a  certain  external  organization, 
a  certain  human  institution  ;  and  all  that  is  to  be  found  out 
of  this  organization,  out  of  this  succession  and  episco'palian- 
ism,  has  been  rejected  as  not  belonging  to  the  church.  From 
this  it  has  followed,  that  in  the  eyes  of  these  ultra-orthodox 
divines,  Presbyterian  ministers  are  no  ministers  at  all,  and 
that  the  Lord's  Supper  celebrated  by  Congregationalists  is  in 
like  manner  no  Sacrament.  I  am  aware  that  the  church  is 


100  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

visible  as  well  as  invisible  ;  but  I  also  know  that  almost  all 
the  errors  of  Rome  have  proceeded  from  her  ascribing  to  the 
visible  church  what  belongs  to  the  spiritual  church  alone. 
Let  us  beware  of  imitating  her  example. 

These  are  the  extremes  of  the  re-action  we  are  now  wit- 
nessing. It  must,  and  will  pass  away.  The  system  is  too 
void  of  truth  to  have  any  vitality,  in  the  midst  of  the  Gos- 
pel light.  In  the  first  period  we  pointed  out  (that  of  the 
revival),  differences  had  perhaps  been  too  much  forgotten. 
At  the  present  time,  unity  is  too  much  overlooked.  We 
now  see  a  third  period  commencing,  in  which  it  is  to  be 
hoped  due  importance  will  be  given  both  to  essential  and  to 
secondary  objects. 

Notwithstanding  these  weaknesses,  however,  I  have  a  lik- 
ing for  the  Church  of  England ;  and  I  must  say  so,  even  if 
I  should  somewhat  displease  my  Presbyterian  and  my  In- 
dependent friends.  There  is  one  circumstance  of  my  life 
which  may  serve  to  explain  this.  Fifteen  or  sixteen  years 
ago,  before  a  free  chapel  founded  by  the  Evangelical  So- 
ciety was  erected  in  Geneva,  I  could  not  go  to  hear,  in  the 
Genevese  places  of  worship,  sermons  of  mere  morality  or  of 
Unitarian  doctrine ;  and  it  was  painful  to  me  to  communi- 
cate in  them,  after  discourses  in  which  the  works  of  men 
were  set  up,  instead  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  At  that 
time,  the  English  church,  which  had  successively  as  ministers 
two  excellent  men,  Mr.  Burgess  and  Mr.  Hartley,  was  as  a 
place  of  refuge  for  me.  I  there  spent  many  precious  hours, 
and  was  privileged  to  join  in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Those  very  parts  of  the  Liturgy  which  shock  some 
persons,  were  those  which  delighted  me  the  most.  When  I 
heard  the  Nicene,  or  the  Athanasian  Creeds,  profess  so  ex- 
plicitely  the  holy  and  glorious  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  so 
obstinately  denied  in  Geneva,  I  experienced  a  feeling  of  joy 
and  adoration.  I  must  here  pay  my  tribute  of  gratitude  to 
this  church.  She  has  done  me  good. 

I  like  to  proclaim,  with  the  Anglican  Church,  faith  in 


ENGLAND.  101 

Christ,  very  God  and  very  Man;  the  corruption  of  our  nature 
by  original  sin ;  justification  by  faith  alone;  and  regeneration 
or  the  new  birth,  of  which  baptism  is  the  sign ;  and  when 
our  Genevese  school  of  theology  desired  to  confess  her  faith, 
she  borrowed,  as  you  know,  the  seventeenth  Article  of  the 
Church  of  England,  to  affirm  the  doctrine  of  Election. 

There  is  much  vitality  in  the  Evangelical  Episcopal  party  in 
England.  There  are,  both  in  the  ministry  and  in  the  congre- 
gations, many  men  who  pray,  many  men  who  believe,  and  who 
are  ready  to  do  all  things,  to  be  faithful  to  Jesus  Christ.  The 
other  two  parties, — that  of  Canterbury,  whose  essential  dog- 
ma is  Episcopal  succession,  and  that  of  Oxford,  which  leans 
towards  the  Papacy, — are  in  the  presence  of  the  Evangelical 
party,  but  as  phantoms  before  living  men.  They  may  frighten, 
but  they  cannot  conquer  it.  Several  circumstances,  no  doubt, 
concur  in  weakening  the  Evangelical  Episcopalian  body  in 
England.  Some  of  its  most  distinguished  adherents  have 
latterly  too  much  lost  sight  of  what  is  truly  essential — the 
Word  of  God — to  attach  themselves  to  the  little  superstitions 
of  hierarchical  parties.  But  this  evil  will  pass  away.  These 
men  are,  above  all,  Christian  men.  They  will  remember  this 
in  the  day  of  battle,  and  will  openly  range  themselves  under 
the  banner  of  Jesus  Christ. 

What  is  most  Avanting  to  the  Evangelical  party  is  the  con- 
sciousness of  its  own  strength.  It  is  much  stronger  than  it 
thinks  itself.  Perhaps  nowhere  in  Christendom  is  there  a 
greater  love  for  the  Word  of  God,  and,  consequently,  more 
pledges  of  a  certain  victory. 

VII. 

THE  REFORMATION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND. 

AFTER  having  gone  through  the  different  manifestations  of 
English  life,  rising  step  by  step,  shall  I  finish  with  the  church, 
and  thus  end  where  I  began  ?  It  is  an  entire  world,  from 


102  TEAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

which  I  shrink.  I  have  no  time  to  enter  upon  it,  and,  be- 
sides, it  is  well  known  to  you.  Yet  the  church  is  essential 
to  the  existence  of  England,  and  with  it  I  must  conclude. 

Looking  through  the  various  parts  of  the  constitution  of 
the  Church  of  England,  I  find  certain  institutions  which,  ac- 
cording to  my  convictions,  are  not  what  they  ought  to  be  in 
a  church,  and  these  I  consider  it  my  duty  to  point  out.  If 
there  is  a  process  termed  development,  to  carry  us  away  from 
evangelical  simplicity,  ought  there  not  to  be  another,  called 
reformation,  to  bring  us  back  to  it  ? 

Reformation  should  begin  with  the  institutions  destined  to 
train  up  the  ministers  of  the  church.  The  Church  of  Eng- 
land is  essentially  an  aristocratic  church.  The  members  of 
the  English  clergy  are  taken  from  all  ranks  of  society,  and 
the  sons  of  British  peers  sit  sometimes  as  ministers  beside  the 
sons  of  artisans.  In  this  no  doubt  there  are  advantages  ;  but 
there  are  also  inconveniences.  The  worldliness  of  the  clergy 
has  long  been  a  general  complaint  in  England.  The  love  of 
liturgical  and  architectural  forms  in  the  present  day  is  an- 
other. Puseyism,  to  corrupt  the  church,  has  begun  with  the 
universities:  in  them  it  has  sought  to  establish  its  power. 
"  The  children  of  this  world  are  in  their  generation  wiser  than 
the  children  of  light."  The  Evangelical  party  must  endeavor 
to  diffuse,  both  in  Oxford  and  in  Cambridge,  more  of  true 
light,  true  science,  and  true  piety. 

I  have  visited  Cambridge.  I  have  seen  her  students,  ar- 
rayed in  the  academical  gown  and  cap,  meet  together  morn- 
ing and  evening  for  their  liturgical  worship  in  their  magnif- 
icent chapels.  I  remember  my  stay  in  that  university  eight 
or  nine  years  ago  ;  the  services,  the  lectures,  my  repast  in  the 
immense  hall  of  Trinity  College,  and  the  chamber  of  the  great 
Isaac  Newton,  in  which  the  dean  had  the  kindness  to  lodge  me. 
I  found  among  the  members  of  the  university  a  vital  piety, 
and  I  am  convinced  that  any  efforts  they  may  make  to  revive 
these  nurseries  of  the  church  will  certainly  not  be  useless. 

I  am  aware  that  the  Evangelical  party  has  been  reproached 


ENGLAND.  103 

with  being  too  narrow-minded,  and  not  sufficiently  learned. 
Dr.  Arnold  has  given  utterance  to  these  accusations,  and 
they  may  have  some  foundation.  I  do  not  think  that  the 
Evangelical  party  should,  or  even  could,  be  reinstated  purely 
and  simply,  such  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  Cecil  and  of  Mil- 
ner.  This  would  be  a  loss  of  labor.  A  new  development 
is  necessary.  If  evangelical  England  is  to  be  rebuilt,  she 
must  be  set  up  anew  upon  the  living  rock  of  the  Divine 
Word.  She  must  cease  to  cultivate  almost  exclusively  in 
her  universities  the  classical  languages  and  the  mathemat- 
ics ;  and  in  order  to  form  theologians,  some  attention  must 
be  paid  to  theological  science.  England,  in  this  respect,  is 
far  behind  the  churches  and  universities  of  the  Continent. 

It  is  asserted  that  a  Young  German  party  is  forming  in 
the  English  universities,  especially  at  Oxford.  I  know  not 
what  will  become  of  it,  for  there  are  many  tendencies  in 
Germany,  as  we  have  seen.  There  is  among  a  few  German 
ministers  an  ecclesiastical  tendency,  somewhat  resembling 
that  of  Dr.  Pusey.  There  is  a  rationalist,  philosophical,  and 
pantheistical  tendency,  which  aims  at  nothing  else  but  the 
destruction  of  the  faith.  But  there  is  also  another  tendency, 
exegetic,  biblical,  and  historical,  whose  object  it  is  to  temper 
the  church  anew  in  the  living  springs  of  truth.  If  it  is  Pan- 
theism that  England  is  about  to  import  from  Germany,  we 
have  seen  what  eccentricities  and  errors  may  be  expected 
from  it.  But  if  she  goes  to  the  school  of  Neander,  of  Nitzsh, 
of  Hengstenberg,  and  of  Tholuck,  to  train  herself  to  the 
study  of  the  Bible,  of  Christian  history  and  divinity,  she 
may  derive  much  benefit.  It  is  evident  that  if  England  re- 
ceives from  Germany  any  tendency  whatever,  that  tendency 
will  be  modified.  English  individuality  is  too  strongly 
marked  not  to  impress  on  it  a  peculiar  stamp.  The*  ration- 
alist elements,  that  may  be  met  with,  will  be  rejected.  These 
biblical,  historical,  and  theological  studies,  will  enlarge  the 
theology  of  England,  and  cause  her  to  produce  other  works 
besides  Apocalyptical  commentaries. 


104  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

Can  nothing  be  done  to  promote  this  ?  When  the  Chris- 
tians of  Bale  beheld  their  university  almost  invaded  by  Ra- 
tionalism, they  united  to  found  a  theological  chair,  which  a 
biblical  doctor  was  called  to  fill.  And  when,  at  Geneva,  we 
saw  the  old  school  absorbed  by  Unitarianism,  we  established 
our  new  evangelical  and  free  school.  Will  England — so  en- 
ergetic, so  powerful,  so  wealthy,  and  so  faithful — do  nothing  ? 

Theological  science  plays  too  prominent  a  part  in  Ger- 
many ;  in  England  it  is  not  held  in  sufficient  importance.  If 
in  Germany  there  is  a  science  and  no  church,  may  it  not  be 
said  that  in  England  there  is  a  church  and  no  science  ?  The 
great  aim  of  the  church  is  not  science,  but  the  salvation  of 
souls,  and  thence  the  glory  of  God.  We  would  rather  have 
a  church  without  science,  than  science  without  a  church. 
Nay,  more ;  we  acknowledge  that  England  is  far  from  being 
without  the  theological  element.  Nevertheless,  the  philo- 
logical, mathematical,  physical,  and  economical  sciences  oc- 
cupy the  mind  more  than  theology.  If  we  compare  Eng- 
land with  her  good  old  times,  with  the  church  of  the  Refor- 
mation, or  with  that  of  the  early  ages,  she  appears  far  be- 
hind. Theology  is  a  fine  career  opened  to  the  lofty  intellect 
of  Britain. 

Not  only  at  the  basis, — in  the  universities,  is  a  reform 
needed,  but  also  at  the  summit,  in  church  government. 

I  might  here  instance  one  of  the  first  elements  of  this 
government — the  elections.  The  church  members  in  Eng- 
land have  no  share  in  the  choice  of  their  ministers  ;  and  what 
takes  place  in  the  elections  of  the  bishops  is  still  more  extra- 
ordinary. When  a  vacant  see  is  to  be  filled  up,  the  chapter 
receives  from  the  crown  a  congt  d'tlire  ;  but  this  writ  is  ac- 
companied by  another  (a  letter-missive),  in  which  the  crown 
designates  the  person  whom  the  chapter  is  to  appoint.  If 
after  twelve  days  the  election  does  not  take  place,  the  king 
nominates  the  bishop  by  letters  patent,  and  the  chapter,  if  it 
opposes  this,  exposes  itself  to  the  penalties  of  prcemunire, 
which  renders  the  members  liable  to  imprisonment  "  during 


ENGLAND.  105 

the  king's  pleasure."  At  the  same  time  the  king  takes  pos- 
session of  the  revenues. 

But  it  is,  in  particular,  of  the  supreme  government  of  the 
church  that  I  would  speak.  In  this  the  rights  of  the  church 
are  still  more  completely  sacrificed. 

The  Church  of  England  is  composed  of  two  archiepisco- 
pal  provinces — Canterbury  and  York.  Each  of  these  has 
from  very  early  times,  probably  since  the  reign  of  Edward  I., 
held  convocations,  or  ecclesiastical  synods  ;  which  being 
called  to  grant  taxes  to  the  crown,  levied  upon  church  prop- 
erty, always  met  at  the  same  time  with  the  parliament. 

The  convocation  of  Canterbury,  which  is  held  at  West- 
minster, is  composed  of  two  houses — the  bishops'  and  the 
lower  house,  in  which  are  twenty-two  deans,  fifty-three  arch- 
deacons, twenty-four  deputies  from  the  chapters,  and  forty- 
four  of  the  lower  clergy ;  but  no  laymen.  To  these  convo- 
cations once  belonged,  saving  the  king's  prerogative,  the 
government  of  the  church.  But  in  171Y,  at  the  time  of  the 
Jacobite  troubles,  the  debates  having  displeased  government, 
the  convocation  was  dissolved  ;  and  now  it  no  longer  exists. 
It  is  true,  that  whenever  a  new  parliament  meets,  the  elec- 
tions again  take  place  ;  the  convocation  assembles  at  West- 
minster ;  a  Latin  sermon  is  preached ;  after  which  the  con- 
vocation recognizes  what  the  last  parliament  has  enacted 
concerning  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  draws  up  an  address  to 
the  king  or  the  queen ;  after  this  it  adjourns  sine  die.  Thus 
the  Anglican  Church  meets  to  take  off  its  hat  and  make  a 
low  bow  to  those  who  have  taken  away  all  its  power, — and 
then  the  mutes  disperse.  It  is  the  shadow  of  a  body,  which 
having  the  shadow  of  a  jurisdiction,  holds  the  shadow  of  an 
assembly ;  and  then  all  these  shadows  dissolve  and  vanish 
under  the  antique  arches,  and  among  the  pillars,  statues, 
urns,  and  tombs  of  the  Gothic  abbey. 

The  crown  might  convoke  the  synods  ;  but  it  never  calls 
them  together,  and  thus,  by  maintaining  the  status  quo,  it 
seems,  in  my  opinion,  to  show  that  this  right  out  not  to  be- 

5* 


106  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

long  to  it.  A  right  which  is  never  made  use  of  is  an  ab- 
surdity. 

Can  such  a  church  government  subsist  ? 

I  have  often  met  with  two  very  different  opinions  with  re- 
gard to  the  Church  of  England — that  which  would  preserve 
every  thing  hi  it,  and  that  which  would  entirely  abolish  it. 
Neither  of  these  opinions  is  mine.  This  church,  it  must  be 
owned,  is  dear  to  the  people  of  England ;  and  it  has  never 
ceased  to  bear  valuable  fniits  to  Christianity  in  general.  But 
I  do  not  think  that  in  the  present  age  the  Church  of  England 
can  preserve  the  institutions  which  she  owes  to  the  middle 
ages ;  and  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  changes,  more  or  less 
violent,  which  the  state  introduced  into  it  during  the  eight- 
eenth century,  ought  to  be  revised  and  corrected  under  a 
more  Christian  influence. 

.  I  believe  in  the  preservation  of  the  Church  of  England ; 
but  I  also  believe  in  her  transformation.  The  state  has 
hitherto  gagged  and  stifled  her.  I  think  that  the  Christian 
element  within  her  ought  to  disengage  and  develop  itself,  and 
create  a  new  independence  and  a  new  life.  Of  all  Evangeli- 
cal churches,  that  of  England  is  the  least  ripe  for  indepen- 
dence. The  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century  took  deep 
root  among  the  people  ;  a  biblical  Christianity  was  then  ar- 
dently sought  after ;  but  the  change  of  the  ecclesiastical 
constitution  was  for  the  most  part  accomplished  by  the  gov- 
ernment, and  consisted  at  first  of  little  more  than  the  substi- 
tution of  the  king  for  the  pope  as  the  head  of  the  church. 
The  English,  therefore,  stand  upon  a  very  different  historical 
ground  to  that  of  other  nations ;  and  this  we  must  consider 
in  order  to  do  them  justice. 

But  the  force  of  times  and  circumstances  is  bringing  about 
a  revolution  which  England  little  thought  of.  It  is  evident 
that  sinct>  the  Emancipation  and  other  acts  have  given  Ro- 
man Catholics  and  Dissenters  seats  in  parliament,  it  is  an 
unreasonable  and  humiliating  thing  for  the  church  that  par- 
liament should  rule  over  her.  Only  think  of  the  tail  of 


ENGLAND.  107 

O'Connell,  of  Young  Ireland — those  headstrong  Papists,  be- 
ing placed  by  law  among  the  heads  of  the  Protestant  Church 
of  England.  It  is  one  of  those  monstrosities  which  can  only 
last  a  few  years.  The  principles  of  eternal  justice  will  soon 
set  it  right. 

I  stated  my  views  on  this  subject  in  1845,  before  leaving 
England,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  one  of  its  most  venerable 
leaders,  the  Bishop  of  Chester ;  which,  though  published  in 
the  English  papers,  was  but  little  responded  to.*  The  An- 
glican church  was  formerly  governed,  as  we  have  seen,  by  a 
body  purely  clerical — the  convocation  of  the  bishops  and 
other  members  of  the  clergy.  All  were  sensible  of  the  im- 
mense abuses  arising  from  this  state  of  things,  and,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century,  it  received  a  government 
essentially  lay — the  parliament.  Every  one  feels,  at  present, 
that  this  state  of  things,  also,  cannot  exist.  There  evidently 
must  be  a  third.  The  Church  of  England  must  have  a  gov- 
ernment independent  of  the  parliament — a  government  in 
which,  doubtless,  the  bishops  will  sit ;  but  in  which  will  ap- 
pear also  the  ordinary  clergy,  and  wherein  deputies  from  the 
parishes  will  have  an  influential  voice.  Every  true  Protestant 
should  reject  the  hierarchical  course ;  which  may  be  very  ser- 
viceable, perhaps,  for  ancient  Egypt,  or  modern  Rome,  but  is 
unsuited  to  Great  Britain.  The  ideas  which  I  put  forth  in 
my  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Chester,  may  meet  with  contra- 
diction, but  they  will  also,  I  am  certain,  meet  with  commen- 
dation. 

One  of  the  men  who  are  called  upon  to  exercise  great  in- 
fluence in  the  Episcopal  Church  of  England  made  this  obser- 
vation to  me,  which  I  well  remember : — "  To  wish  in  our 
days  for  a  church  government  without  the  intervention  of 
the  members  of  the  church,  is  to  wish  for  a  church  -without 

*  I  have  been  informed  that  an  Evangelical  Episcopal  journal  re- 
fused to  insert  articles  in  which  this  letter  was  discussed,  and  which 
were  sent  by  one  of  its  usual  contributors. 


108  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

influence  and  without  greatness."  These  are  the  words  of  a 
dignitary  of  the  church. 

The  want  of  ecclesiastical  institutions  and  representation 
in  England,  is,  I  am  convinced,  one  of  the  most  active  causes 
of  Puseyism.  Both  the  ministers  and  the  members  of  a 
church  require  occupation ;  and  when  there  are  no  public 
institutious  calling  upon  them  to  discuss  ecclesiastical  inter- 
ests, and  to  realize  salutary  reforms,  then  they  rush  into 
something  else.  In  Germany,  they  have  taken  to  science 
and  rationalism  ;  in  England,  they  have  turned  to  ecclesias- 
ticism  and  popery. 

The  young  men  leave  the  universities.  There  they  have 
gone  through  their  studies, — philological,  mathematical, 
physical,  architectural,  if  not  theological ;  but  there,  at  least, 
they  found  movement  and,  life.  The  more  pious,  no  doubt, 
devote  themselves  to  the  care  of  their  flocks  ;  but  even  they 
have  need  of  some  other  aliment ;  their  intellect  has  wants ; 
their  ecclesiastical  capacity  demands  to  be  satisfied;  they 
desire  to  escape  from  isolation.  The  greater  the  stores  of 
their  minds,  the  greater  will  be  their  wants.  They  meet 
with  ideas  of  tradition,  of  succession,  of  sacramental  influ- 
ence, of  sacerdotal  character, — all  the  tenets  of  false  Catho- 
licism. These  proffered  aliments  the  young  men  joyfully  re- 
ceive and  devour  ;  and  if  no  remedy  be  found,  they  will  fall, 
more  and  more,  into  that  way  of  superstition. 

This  must  not  be  overlooked.  Doubtless,  the  first  means 
of  remedying  the  evil  is  what  I  have  pointed  out — namely, 
pure  Christian  doctrine.  However,  since  Puseyism  is  the  re- 
sult of  certain  ecclesiastical  wants,  some  other  means  must 
be  sought  to  satisfy  them.  Channels  should  be  formed  in 
which  the  life  of  the  church  may  circulate.  We  have  had 
enough  of  "  Tracts  for  the  Times,"  of  Puseyite  romances, 
disfigured  histories,  and  architecture  of  the  middle  ages. 
Something  else  is  needed  for  the  church  ;  she  needs  action 
— action,  that  great  virtue  of  England. 

Would  it  be  erroneous  to  affirm,  that  the  ecclesiastical 


ENGLAND.  109 

forms  of  a  Protestant  people  ought  to  be  in  correspondence 
with  their  political  forms  ?  Let  us  be  rightly  understood. 
We  by  no  means  say,  that  because  one  form  is  in  the  state, 
it  ought  also  to  be  in  the  church  ;  this  would  be  Erastianism, 
and  we  reject  it.  But  we  ask,  if  it  would  be  possible  for  a 
nation  which  has  felt  a  certain  Christian  influence  in  her  po- 
litical developments,  to  reject  that  influence  in  her  ecclesias- 
tical developments  ?  We  find  the  principle  of  the  deliber- 
ative assemblies  of  Christendom  in  the  15th  chapter  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  result  of  whose  deliberation  was  a 
letter  written  from  "  The  apostles,  and  elders,  and  brethren, 
to  the  brethren  which  are  of  the  Gentiles  in  Antioch,  and 
Syria,  and  Cilicia."  Hence  have  proceeded,  doubtless  de- 
creasing and  degenerating,  the  synods  and  councils  of  Chris- 
tendom ;  and  these  institutions  have  powerfully  concurred 
in  producing  the  political  assemblies  which  are  becoming 
more  and  more  prevalent  among  all  Christian  nations.  Eng- 
land is  the  nurse,  the  terra  alma  of  these  great  debates. 
From  her  they  are  transplanted  into  all  other  countries. 
Now,  while  this  form  holds  so  important  a  part  in  the  state, 
is  it  possible  it  should  hold  none  in  the  church  ? 

There  is,  in  the  spirit  of  a  nation,  a  complete  unity.  If 
the  mind,  in  a  certain  sphere,  needs  to  exhibit  itself  in  cer- 
tain forms,  would  it  not,  in  another  sphere,  require  some 
analogous  forms?  What!  a  people  will  have  publicity  in 
worldly  things,  and  yet  reject  it  in  the  things  of  the  church ! 
They  demand  to  be  enlightened  by  debates  in  matters  of 
taxes,  of  gold  and  silver ;  and  they  care  not  for  light  upon 
questions  concerning  imperishable  riches  more  precious  than 
gold !  The  ecclesiastical  institutions  of  the  first  century 
have  helped  to  give  political  institutions  to  modern  nations. 
Will  these  nations  reject  the  same  institutions  in  the  field  of 
the  church,  which  is,  however,  the  field  peculiar  to  them, 
and  the  soil  in  which  they  primitively  flourished  ? 

How  can  any  one  in  England  deny  the  necessity  of  an  ec- 
clesiastical representation,  in  which  the  members  of  the 


110  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

church,  and  not  the  ministers  alone,  may  be  heard  ?  All  the 
societies  formed  for  so  many  different  objects,  all  these  meet- 
ings, all  these  deliberations — are  they  not  proofs  of  a  want 
which  is  felt  more  and  more  in  the  present  day  ? 

It  has  been  remarked,  that  there  is  in  England  much  ec- 
clesiastical isolation;  a  minister  is  frequently  left  almost 
alone.  This,  in  some  cases,  will  not  prevent  him  from  act- 
ing with  fidelity  and  activity ;  yet  he  will  often  fall  into  re- 
missness,  languor,  supineness,  and  a  death-like  inertia. 

An  ecclesiastical  constitution,  inspired  by  a  spirit  of  wis- 
dom and  piety,  would  remedy  this  evil.  Councils,  synods, 
and  connections  of  different  ministers  with  each  other,  would 
rouse  those  who  are  on  the  point  of  falling  asleep,  and  be  a 
means  which  the  grace  of  God  would  employ  to  "  lift  up 
the  hands  that  hang  down,  and  the  feeble  knees."  (Heb. 
xii.  12.)  They  would  prevent  two  evils — the  want  of  su- 
perintendence, of  order,  and  of  discipline  on  the  one  hand  ; 
and  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  bishops  on  the  other. 

But,  above  all,  when  once  ecclesiastical  rights  are  granted 
to  the  members  of  the  English  parishes,  as  for  so  many  cen- 
turies political  rights  have  been  granted  to  the  commons,  the 
Church  of  England  will  become  what  she  ought  to  be,  a  truly 
popular  church.  The  state,  by  swallowing  up  the  church, 
has  become  great  and  powerful ;  but  what  is  the  condition 
of  the  people?  Must  not  statesmen  themselves  acknowl- 
edge that  they  are  poorer  and  more  vicious.  This  would 
not  have  been  the  case,  if  the  church,  instead  of  appearing 
only  by  its  dignitaries,  on  the  bishops'  bench  and  in  the 
privy  council,  had  also  bestowed  rights  on  her  little  ones, — 
on  those  members  of  the  flock  to  whom  the  word  gives  so 
high  a  place  in  the  church  of  the  living  God. 

I  will  only  add  that  episcopacy,  far  from  being  shaken  by 
these  important  reforms,  would,  on  the  contrary,  be  strength- 
ened by  them.  The  executive  power,  the  ecclesiastical  ad- 
ministration, the  superintendence  of  the  churches,  would  re- 


ENGLAND.  Ill 

main  with  the  bishops,  and  the  episcopal  authority  be  placed 
on  a  more  elevated  pedestal. 

I  conclude,  by  saying,  that  a  revolution  in  theological  in- 
struction and  in  ecclesiastical  institutions,  are  two  grand  de- 
siderata in  the  Church  of  England. 

These  two  revolutions  would  be  at  once  salutary  and  glo- 
rious. 

The  Roman  phalanx  is  advancing  in  every  country,  and 
presents  a  fearful  front.  How  is  it  to  be  vanquished  ?  The 
Bible  tells  us,  "  They  overcame  him  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their  testimony."  The  Word  and 
the  Blood, — behold  the  arms  of  the  church  ! 

But  will  the  church  combat  alone  ?  Is  not  the  state  called 
upon  to  withstand  Rome  ?  What,  then,  is  the  history  of  the 
middle  ages,  but  the  picture  of  a  great  combat  between  the 
State  and  the  Papacy  ?  Can  we  do  otherwise  than  withstand 
an  enemy  who  never  ceases  from  attacking  us  ?  and  is  not 
every  one  aware  that  the  sometimes  hidden,  but  always  cer- 
tain aim  of  Rome,  is  to  rule  over  the  state  ?  It  is  painful  and 
alarming  indeed,  to  see  the  enlightened  statesmen  of  England 
fancying  that  Rome  has  laid  aside  her  ambition  and  her  de- 
signs, and  is  no  longer  to  be  distrusted.  I  do  not  think  that 
infatuation  so  astonishing  has  ever  before  been  observed  in 
minds  so  eminent.  Let  the  state  arouse  herself.  Standing 
upon  the  consciousness  of  her  rights,  let  her  keep  Rome  in 
check ;  nay,  repel  with  firmness  her  hypocritical  and  crim- 
inal invasions. 

There  are  two  powers  that  ought  to  attack  Rome,  as  there 
are  two  which  Rome  would  enthral  ?  Let  these  two  armies 
set  forward,  each  on  its  own  ground,  to  meet  the  enemy. 
Let  the  state  proceed  with  her  own  warfare,  and  the  church 
also  with  hers.  And,  while  the  state  opposes  to  Rome  her 
unquestionable  rights,  let  the  church  oppose  to  her  a  living 
and  individual  Christianity. 

Our  own  little  Geneva,  and  Great  Britain,  are  both  sus- 
taining violent  assaults ;  but  we  shall  not  perish.  No ! 


112  TRAVELLING   RECOLLECTIONS. 

Evangelical  Christianity  will  not  perish  either  in  Geneva,  or 
in  England,  or  in  the  whole  world.  I  have,  for  my  warrant, 
the  memory  of  our  fathers,  the  zeal  of  those  who  now  pro- 
fess "the  faith  which  was  once  delivered  to  the  saints." 
Nay,  more,  I  have  for  my  warrant  the  ancient,  immortal,  and 
ever  faithful  companions  of  the  Lord  our  God.  He  will 
neither  forget  the  great  nation  of  England,  nor  the  small 
community  of  which  we,  the  countrymen  of  Calvin,  form  a 
part ;  countries  so  dissimilar  in  many  respects,  and  which, 
nevertheless,  He  has  chosen — the  one  in  her  power,  the 
other  in  her  lowliness, — to  make  them  beacons  of  the  Gospel 
and  bulwarks  of  Christianity. 


CHAPTER    III. 

SCOTLAND. 

1 .  Germany,  England,  and  Scotland.  Crossing  England  by  Railway. 
Arrival  in  Scotland.  Chalmers.  Edinburgh.  The  Old  and  the  New 
Town.  The  Castle  Hill.  Holyrood.— 2.  Difference  between  tho 
English  and  the  Scotch.  Scottish  Character.  A  Proof  of  the  Ref- 
ormation. Importance  of  Doctrine.  Spirit  and  Life.  Character  of 
Scottish  Theology.  Basis.  Apex. — 3.  Worship.  A  Sermon.  Length. 
A  Farewell  Sermon.  Liberty.  The  Lord's  Supper.  Standing  or 
Sitting  1  Discipline;  Essential  or  not  1  Public  Instruction. — 4.  Dis- 
ruption of  1843.  State  of  the  Established  Church.  Holyrood  and 
the  Lord  High  Commissioner.  The  General  Assembly  of  the  Estab- 
lishment and  the  Platform.  Was  a  Speech  necessary  !  Dinner  at 
Holyrood.— 5.  Impartiality.  The  Assembly  Time.  The  18th  of  May 
and  Cannon  Mills.  Our  Entrance.  A  Scottish  Assembly.  Speech 
of  Chalmers.  Geneva  and  Scotland.  Popery  and  Erastianism. 
Bonfires  of  Straw. — 6.  Speech  of  the  Deputies:  Dr.  Gordon,  Dr. 
Macfarlane,  Dr.  Brown.  Fatigue  and  Repose. 


I. 

EDINBURGH. 

I  HAVE  spoken  of  England  and  of  Germany.  I  might 
have  gone  more  deeply  into  the  church  questions  of  these 
two  countries,  but  one  consideration  has  deterred  me.  Great 
things  are  in  preparation  both  for  England  and  for  Germany  ; 
but  the  crisis  has  not  yet  arrived,  and  I  am  no  prophet.  It 
is  not  so  with  Scotland.  There  the  crisis  has  not  reached 
its  full  development,  but  the  effort  has  been  made.  On  this 
country,  therefore,  I  shall  especially  dwell. 

England,  Germany,  and  Scotland  exhibit,  with  regard  to 
the  church,  a  different  aspect. 


114  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

In  Germany,  the  Vandal  spirit  of  rationalism  destroyed 
every  thing  ;  the  church  went  to  ruin,  and  that  noble  coun- 
try presented  a  vast  chaos  in  which  contrary  forces  were 
struggling  together.  But  already  the  Spirit  of  God  is  mov- 
ing on  the  face  of  the  waters ;  the  divine  word  has  been  ut- 
tered, and  the  new  creation  is  begun. 

In  England,  they  had  not  fallen  quite  so  low.  Ancient 
and  venerable  forms  had  been  maintained ;  but,  generally 
speaking,  the  true,  the  divine  Spirit  had  forsaken  those  forms. 
In  its  place  a  human  spirit,  produced  by  these  very  forms, 
had  taken  possession  of  them  ;  and,  alas  !  still  sits  proudly  in 
the  antique  porch  of  many  a  college  and  cathedral.  But  the 
true  spirit,  banished  from  these  elevated  stations,  has  found 
refuge  in  humble  retreats,  and  is  now  about  to  come  forth  with 
power  to  attack  the  human  and  traditional  one,  and  to  drive 
it  from  its  Gothic  strong-holds,  and  set  up  in  its  stead  that 
which  is  always  ancient  yet  always  new — the  Eternal  spirit. 
If  ever  it  gains  the  mastery,  may  it  so  accomplish  the  primi- 
tive reform,  that  these  high  places  can  no  longer  serve  as  a 
retreat  for  the  enemy  ! 

Scotland  is  in  a  better  situation.  A  victory  has  been 
achieved,  but  there  are  still  many  triumphs  to  be  won.  Vic- 
tory has  to  struggle  against  victory  itself.  There  are  all 
kinds  of  dangers  for  success  :  there  are  those  of  lassitude  and 
slumber,  those  of  pride  and  disdain  ;  there  are  those  of  idola- 
try, which  makes  an  idol  of  all  belonging  to  the  conqueror ; 
and  there  are  those  of  narrowness,  which  forsakes  the  mighty 
river  of  Christian  life,  to  confine  itself  in  paltry  conduits. 

Having  thus  glanced  at  Germany  and  England,  I  hasten 
onward  to  Scotland. 

I  traversed  England,  from  London  to  Newcastle,  in  one 
short  day,  thanks  to  the  railroads  !  I  often  went  forty-eight 
miles  in  one  hour,  three  times  the  distance  from  Geneva  to 
the  other  end  of  our  lake.  I  flew  like  an  arrow  through 
the  delightful  and  celebrated  landscapes  of  Derbyshire,  and 
waved  my  hand,  as  I  passed  by,  to  the  majestic  towers  of 


SCOTLAND.  115 

.the  ancient  Minster  of  York.  The  next  day,  for  want  of 
better  accommodation,  I  took  my  seat  in  one  of  those  heavy 
vehicles  of  the  Middle  Ages,  called  mails,  or  stage-coaches, 
and  proceeded  slowly,  by  comparison,  although  at  full  gal- 
lop, from  Newcastle  to  Edinburgh.  After  crossing  the  Bor- 
der, the  magnificent  ruins  of  Jedburgh  Abbey,  one  of  the 
finest  remains  of  Saxon  architecture,  soon  attracted  my  no- 
tice. These  ruins  of  olden  time,  which  appeared  before  me 
the  moment  I  entered  Scotland,  after  having  crossed  the 
desert  moors  which  divide  it  from  England,  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  me.  I  seemed  to  hear  a  voice  from  them  say- 
ing to  me :  "  Thou  art  setting  thy  foot  upon  an  ancient 
land,  and  it  is  not  only  the  present  times  which  thou  must 
behold  there,  but  those  also  which  are  no  more !" 

Yet  I  must  not  forget  the  present.  After  having  passed 
within  sight  of  Abbotsford,  celebrated  as  the  residence  of 
Walter  Scott,  we  arrived  in  Edinburgh.  It  was  the  day  on 
which  the  Queen's  birth-day  is  kept ;  there  were  great  rejoic- 
ings in  the  streets,  and  fireworks  were  thrown  against  the 
coach.  I  had  not  yet  alighted,  when  I  perceived  amidst  the 
crowd  a  head  already  whitened  by  age,  with  a  lively  eye  and 
benevolent  smile.  It  was  Chalmers,  that  man  who  for  these 
thirty  years  has  been  all  over  Europe  the  representative  of 
Scotland;  he  had  had  the  kindness  to  come  and  meet  me. 
The  hearty  welcome  of  this  venerable  Christian,  with  whom 
I  was  not  before  personally  acquainted,  and  who  adds  to  his 
great  genius  the  simplicity  of  a  child,  affected  me  even  to 
tears.  Thenceforward  I  loved  Chalmers  as  a  brother,  and 
reverenced  him  as  a  father.  I  was  united  to  him,  to  his 
church,  to  his  people,  by  a  powerful  bond  of  affection.  A 
month  afterwards,  having  gone  to  spend  my  last  two  days  in 
Scotland  with  Chalmers,  in  a  delightful  village  at  Fairlie,  on 
the  sea-shore,  opposite  the  mountains  of  Arran,  I  repaired  to 
Greenock,  to  meet  the  steamer  which  was  to  carry  me  to  Liv- 
erpool ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  distance,  notwithstanding 
his  age,  and  a  heavy  rain,  (a  Greenock  day,  as  they  call  it 


116  •          TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

there,)  Chalmers  would  see  me  to  my  cabin,  and  did  not  leave 
me  till  the  signal  was  given  for  our  departure.  Chalmers  was 
the  first  and  the  last  whom  I  saw  in  Scotland.  If  I  recall 
this  cordial  welcome,  it  is  not  only  for  the  sake  of  doing  honor 
to  this  friend  ;  I  merely  point  to  the  venerable  Edinburgh  pa- 
triarch as  the  type  of  Scottish  hospitality. 

Here  am  I,  then,  in  Edinburgh,  the  most  picturesque  of 
all  the  towns  which  I  have  ever  visited.  Its  situation  has 
been  compared  to  that  of  Athens,  but  it  is  added  that  the 
modern  Athens  is  far  superior  to  the  ancient.  Edinburgh, 
built  upon  the  two  brows  of  a  large  terrace,  presents  the  most 
wonderful  perspective.  If  from  that  beautiful  Prince's  Street, 
which  separates  the  Old  Town  from  the  New,  you  turn  to- 
wards the  south,  you  have  before  you  the  old  Edinburgh,  with 
its  historic  walls,  its  colleges,  its  hospitals,  its  ancient  towers, 
and  those  houses  that,  from  the  side  on  which  you  now  look, 
have  as  many  as  fourteen  stories,  while  on  the  other  they 
have  but  two  or  three ;  you  see  those  narrower  streets,  in 
which  you  must  seek  the  memorials  of  the  city,  and  in  par- 
ticular the  residence  of  Knox,  around  which  the  Free  Church 
has  lately  purchased  a  site,  to  raise  to  the  Reformer  of  Scot- 
land a  monument  worthy  of  him,  two  churches  and  a  school. 
Geneva  is  not  doing  as  much  for  Calvin ! 

Such  is  the  view  which  from  the  New  Town  we  have  of 
the  Old.  But,  if  I  change  my  position,  and  climb  to  the 
heights  of  the  Old  Town,  and  look  back  to  the  place  I  have 
just  left,  on  the  north  side  to  the  New  Town,  I  then  see  a 
very  different  prospect :  squares,  gardens,  magnificent  streets, 
adorned  as  it  were  with  palaces ;  and,  at  the  corner  of  two 

of  them,  the  hospitable  abode  in  which  Archibald  B 

received  me  like  a  brother ;  that  house,  which,  during  the 
sitting  of  the  Assembly,  never  ceased  to  be  filled  with  friends, 
from  breakfast  time  until  after  evening  worship,  between 
eleven  and  twelve ;  the  crowd  renewed  at  every  moment,  so 
that  it  was  rare  to  see  the  same  face  twice,  and  it  might  have 
been  called  a  very  caravanserai  of  Christian  friends,  where 


SCOTLAND.  117      _ 

every  one  is  free  to  enter.  Farther  on,  I  beheld  the  Frith 
of  Forth ;  the  sea,  with  its  islands,  its  rocks,  its  vessels  trav- 
ersing it  in  all  directions  ;  towns,  light-houses  ;  and  all  around 
me  in  the  distance  the  shadows  of  the  Ochills  and  the  Pent- 
lands,  and  the  rugged  summits  of  the  Grampians. 

But  what,  even  to  a  Swiss,  is  most  striking  in  Edinburgh, 
and  especially  when  walking  in  the  cool  groves  of  the  val- 
ley which  separates  the  Old  Town  from  the  New,  is  that 
mountain,  which,  in  the  very  midst  of  the  city,  shoots  up  its 
immense  and  abrupt  walls  of  rock,  which  an  Irishman  de- 
scribed as  being  more  than  perpendicular.  You  wander 
amid  Scotch  firs,  (we  call  them  here  Genevese  pines ;  Ge- 
neva and  Scotland  have  both  joined  in  giving  their  own  name 
to  their  favorite  tree,)  you  contemplate  the  base  of  the 
mountain,  you  climb  from  rock  to  rock,  you  hide  yourself 
under  their  shadow  and  dive  into  their  recesses,  you  fancy 
yourself  in  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  most  distant 
solitudes  of  our  Alps ;  in  some  secluded  glen  of  the  Valais, 
of  the  Oberland,  or  of  Glaris,  beside  the  Glaciers  :  you  look 
up,  and  palaces  surround  you ! 

But  what  are  those  ancient  walls  which  I  see  perched 
upon  the  summit  of  these  bold  rocks  ?  What  is  that  loud 
blast  of  the  trumpet  which  re-echoes  from  the  heights  ? 
What  mean  the  bands  of  armed  Highlanders,  who,  clothed 
in  their  picturesque  costume,  ascend  and  descend  the  moun- 
tain ?  These  walls  are  the  castrum  puellarum,  the  camp  of 
the  maidens,  where  in  ancient  times  the  Pictish  kings,  as  the 
tradition  tells  us,  placed  their  daughters  to  be  educated  in 
these  inaccessible  heights,  safe  from  the  tumults  and  the 
wars  of  the  plain ;  it  is  the  old  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  which 
has  been  as  the  kernel  to  the  town,  that  has  gradually  ger- 
minated around  it.  More  than  once  in  critical  circumstances 
for  the  country,  during  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  sixteenth, 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  armies  have  spread  their  banners 
around  this  lofty  fortress ;  and  now,  all  that  remains  of  those 
historical  times,  are  the  royal  jewels  of  Scotland, — the 


118  TEA  YELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

crown,  the  sceptre  and  the  sword, — which,  having  been 
found  by  accident,  and  in  a  dark  room,  are  now  exhibited  at 
noonday  to  visitors  by  the  red  glare  of  lamps. 

But  how  many  more  memorials  are  there  in  Edinburgh  ! 
Coming  down  from  the  Castle,  along  the  High  Street  and  the 
Canongate,  which  join  the  two  most  remarkable  edifices  of 
the  metropolis,  Edinburgh  Castle  and  Holyrood  Palace,  I 
find  the  ancient  cathedral  of  St.  Giles,  near  whose  Gothic 
walls  lie  the  remains  of  Knox,  and  whose  lofty  aisles  have 
witnessed  so  many  celebrated  events  of  Scottish  history. 
Continuing  my  walk,  I  reach  the  palace  of  Holyrood,  situat- 
ed between  the  splendid  Calton  Hill,  which  commands  the 
sea,  and  on  which  stand  the  monuments  of  Nelson,  and  of 
other  famous  men,  and  where  a  strong  wind  is  always  blow- 
ing ;  and  on  the  other  side  Arthur's  Seat,  that  picturesque 
mountain  which  reminds  us  of  our  Saleve  on  a  smaller  scale. 
Here,  then,  is  Holyrood,  that  ancient  abode  of  so  much 
grandeur,  of  so  much  beauty,  of  so  many  painful  and  terri- 
ble remembrances.  Here  are  the  half  destroyed  walls  of 
that  chapel,  whose  graceful  ruins  are  a  sad  but  significant 
monument  of  the  desire  of  the  Stuarts  to  introduce  Prelacy 
and  Popery  into  Scotland,  and  of  the  fruitlessness  with 
which  efforts  so  uncongenial  must  ever  be  attended.  But 
the  great  name  which  seems  to  hover  over  Holyrood,  is  that 
of  the  unfortunate  Mary  Stuart.  We  see  her  bed,  her  dress- 
ing table,  and  her  work.  Every  moment  you  meet  with  this 
name  in  Scotland.  "  Here,"  they  say,  pointing  to  some  fine 
ruins,  "  Here  Mary  Stuart  was  born."  "  There,  very  near 
Edinburgh,  Mary  often  resided."  They  have  given  the  name 
of  Little  France  to  the  village  in  which  the  French  guards 
were  lodged.  Nations  keep  the  remembrance  of  those  who 
do  them  evil,  better  than  that  of  those  who  have  done  them 
good.  Thus,  near  the  Gulf  of  Baiae,  not  far  from  Naples, 
you  still  find  everywhere  the  memorials  of  Nero ;  there  are 
Nero's  baths,  Nero's  grotto,  Nero's  palace ;  and  farther  on, 


SCOTLAND.  119 

Nero,  Tiberius,  the  Cape  of   Misene.     The  poets  describe 
with  exactness  the  places  in  which  tyrants  resided. 

Caesar  Tiberius 
In  Misenensem  villam 
Quse  monte  summo  posita  Luculli  manu, 
Prospectat  Siculum,  et  despicit  Tuscum  mare. 

Thus,  Scotland  everywhere  recalls  Mary  Stuart.  "But 
the  memory  of  the  just  alone  is  blessed."  I  shall  have 
another  opportunity  of  speaking  of  the  recollections  which 
Mary  Stuart  has  left  in  Holyrood.  I  now  leave  Edinburgh, 
and  turn  to  the  Scottish  people. 


II. 

SCOTTISH   DOCTRINE. 

A  DISTINGUISHED  th^logian,  Dr.  Sack,  has  said,  that  the 
predominant  principle  in  the  English  is  the  soul,  V"/7? — the 
principle  of  life,  of  thought,  of  voluntary  motion  in  man ; 
and  in  the  Scotch  the  mind,  irvevpa — that  spiritual  being  by 
which  man  enters  into  relation  with  God  and  the  invisible 
world.  The  Englishman,  according  to  him,  would  lean  more 
towards  reality,  the  Scotchman  towards  ideality.  As  this 
distinction  might  lead  to  a  deeper  study  and  discussion  than 
we  can  now  enter  upon,  I  shall  not  dwell  upon  it. 

I  found  the  Scotchman  kind,  cordial,  hospitable,  active, 
and  generous.  If  I  had  accepted  all  the  invitations  which 
were  given  me  in  Scotland,  to  spend  only  a  few  days  with 
each,  I  should  certainly  have  been  there  until  now.  What 
excellent  people  ;  what  love,  what  Christian  life,  what  zeal, 
what  devotedness  among  all  those  kind  friends  by  whom  I 
was  surrounded !  I  only  regretted  that  what  might  have 
filled  up  a  year  was  crowded  into  a  few  days.  I  was  more 
especially  struck  by  the  energy  of  this  people, — their  energy 
of  feeling,  of  words,  and  of  action.  There  is  still  something 


120  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

of  the  old  Scots  and  Picts  in  these  Christians  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  Christianity  has  sunk  deeper  into  them 
than  into  any  other  nation  ;  but  you  see  that  the  Christian  sap 
has  been  transfused  into  them,  not  from  the  weakened  off- 
shoots of  the  Romans,  but  from  a  young,  vigorous,  and  in- 
digenous stock.  This  union  of  natural  energy,  with  that 
energy  which  comes  from  above,  can  alone  explain  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  and  what  she  is  now  doing.  The  Scotchman 
has  even  the  defects  of  his  good  qualities.  If  there  are  any 
who  are  suspicious,  violent,  intolerant,  or  bitter,  they  are  not 
so  by  halves.  This  is  to  be  found  in  the  most  legitimate 
controversies  ;  as  in  the  Apocryphal  controversy,  for  instance, 
which,  although  founded  on  justice,  was  sometimes  carried 
beyond  all  reasonable  bounds.  The  same  may  perhaps  be 
said  of  more  recent  discussions. 

The  religious  feeling  which  I  pointed  out  as  an  essential 
characteristic  of  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  is  still  more  de- 
cided in  the  north ;  and  while  the  ^glishman  is  sometimes 
inclined  to  asceticism  and  mysticism  (the  Puseyite  movement 
is  with  some  purely  ascetic),  the  Scotchman  has  certain  as- 
pirations, certain  poetical  desires,  as  to  religious  and  invisible 
things ;  and  every  one  is  familiar  with  that  species  of  vision- 
ary prophecy,  called  in  Scotland  second  sight. 

Scotland  appears  to  me  to  present  the  best  proof  of  the 
Reformation.  I  do  not  mean  that  nothing  is  wanting  in  it. 
But,  comparatively  speaking,  it  is,  of  all  Protestant  nations, 
that  in  which  the  Gospel  has  worked  the  best,  and  in  which 
its  effects  have  been  the  most  durable.  This  gives  to  Scot- 
land a  great  importance  in  that  Christian  restoration  which 
we  should  wish  our  age  to  witness.  Though  Scotland  should 
not  be  for  us  the  model  country  (it  is  in  ages  further  back, 
in  the  primitive  times  of  Christianity,  that  the  model  of  the 
church  is  to  be  sought),  it  is  perhaps  destined  at  the  present 
period  to  be  the  vanguard  of  Christ's  army. 

What,  then,  has  secured  to  the  Church  of  Scotland  this 
eminent  rank  ?  I  hesitate  not  to  reply,  "  Her  attachment  to 


SCOTLAND.  121 

sound  doctrine."  When  we  see  how  important  the  church 
question  is  in  Scotland,  and  that  for  the  sake  of  this  question 
a  large  number  of  ministers  have  forsaken  all,  we  may  per- 
haps be  disposed  to  think  that  the  country  takes  no  great 
interest  in  doctrine.  Quite  the  reverse  !  It  is  because  doc- 
trine is  placed  so  high  in  Scotland,  that  the  church  meets 
with  so  much  sympathy.  Wherever  doctrine  is  not  cared 
for,  the  people  care  little  for  the  church,  and  a  miserable 
esprit  de  corps  alone  remains,  which  is  the  most  opposed  of 
any  to  a  Christian  spirit.  The  church  itself  is  doctrine. 
The  most  characteristic  distinction  between  the  Christian 
church  and  Paganism,  Mahometanism  and  Deism,  either  pure 
or  Socinian,  is  the  Christian  doctrine,  as  essentially  different 
from  the  Pagan,  Mahometan,  Deistical,  or  Socinian  doctrines. 
This  also  distinguishes  the  Romish  from  the  Protestant 
church.  Observe,  when  I  speak  of  doctrine,  I  do  not  mean 
a  cold,  arid,  lifeless  orthodoxy ;  I  mean  "  the  doctrine  which 
is  according  to  godliness,"  as  the  apostle  says ;  that  doctrine 
which  produces  life,  which  leads  to  regeneration,  to  sanctifi- 
cation,  to  fellowship  with  God,  and  to  good  works. 

The  beautiful  Westminster  Confession  is  still  the  exponent 
of  the  faith  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  But  doctrine,  as  it  is 
to  be  found  within  the  Church  of  Scotland,  is  neither  an  ab- 
stract dogma  nor  an  obsolete  formula.  It  is  spirit  and  life. 
These  minds  so  quick  and  so  penetrating  ;  these  intellects  so 
moulded  by  public  life  and  civil  liberty,  to  great  movements 
and  great  manifestations ;  these  souls  so  fresh,  so  ardent,  so 
energetic,  cannot  take  delight  in  that  phantom  of  orthodoxy 
which  we  have  seen  on  the  Continent  subsisting  long  after 
the  life  of  faith  had  disappeared.  The  critical,  exegetical; 
patristic,  or  historical  element,  which  characterizes  Germany, 
does  not,  it  is  true,  exist  to  the  same  degree  in  Scotland  ;  yet 
we  must  not  therefore  expect  to  find  an  external  and  super- 
ficial theology.  There  is  more  real  theology,  that  is  to  say, 
knowledge  of  God,  in  Scotland,  than  in  Germany.  You  will 
find  the  fundamental  basis  of  faith  laid  down  with  great  wis- 

6 


122  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

dom  and  great  energy  ;  you  will  find  an  incomparable  firm- 
ness in  the  development  of  the  whole  Christian  system,  a 
clear  and  penetrating  spirit,  which  distinguishes,  explains, 
and  characterizes  every  dogma  and  every  question  with  re- 
markable distinctness ;  and,  over  all,  you  will  find  a  steadi- 
ness and  assurance  which  does  one  good,  after  being  accus- 
tomed to  see  so  many  theologians  in  Germany  and  elsewhere, 
hesitating  and  contradicting  themselves,  being  like  "  children 
tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  by  every  wind  of  doc- 
trine." 

The  Scottish  theologian  places  himself  at  once  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  Christian  doctrine  ;  it  is  on  faith  in  the  reconcilia- 
tion by  the  expiatory  sacrifice  of  Christ  that,  he  takes  his 
stand.  This  grand  dogma,  which  tells  us  at  once  of  the  sin 
of  man  and  the  grace  of  God ;  this  fundamental  doctrine, 
which  contains,  on  the  one  hand,  the  consciousness  of  our 
guilt,  and,  on  the  other,  the  assurance  of  an  irrevocable  coun- 
sel of  mercy  and  salvation,  is  the  vivifying  centre  of  Scotch 
theology.  Faith  in  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  has  borne  the 
sins  of  the  world  ;  this  is  the  milk  with  which  the  Scottish 
child  is  fed  in  the  schools  of  the  towns,  the  mountains,  and 
the  plains  ;  and  the  strong  meat,  whose  nourishing  juices  are 
dispensed  by  the  theologians  of  Edinburgh  or  Glasgow  to 
the  future  ministers  of  the  church. 

But  if  Christ,  once  dead,  is  the  groundwork  of  the  edifice, 
Christ  now  living  is  its  corner-stone.  If  there  are  some 
countries  in  Christendom  which  worship  Christ  as  much  in 
his  death  and  as  a  victim  (which  there  certainly  are),  I  think 
that  there  are  none  which  honor  Christ  in  his  imperishable 
life  as  King  so  much  as  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Christ  is 
to  the  Scotch  the  High  Priest,  ever  living,  incessantly  inter- 
ceding for  His  people.  He  is  with  them  the  Prince  who 
truly  reigns  -over  the  church ;  and  they  are  quite  in  earnest 
in  taking  Him  for  their  King.  Nay,  more,  Christ  is  also  for 
the  Scotch,  He  who  will  "  come  quickly."  Without,  per- 
haps, entering  so  much  as  the  English  into  millenial  questions 


SCOTLAND.  123 

and  Apocalyptical  calculations  (which  I  do  not  mean  to  de- 
spise, but  which,  as  has  been  observed,  may  sometimes  be 
carried  to  excess),  the  Scottish  Christians,  more  perhaps  than 
any  other  people,  look  forward  with  hope  and  joy  to  the 
approaching  coming  of  the  Saviour. 

III. 

WORSHIP. 

LET  us  take  a  nearer  view  of  the  religion  of  this  people. 
Let  us  enter  one  of.  the  temples  wherein  a  Christian  congre- 
gation is  worshipping  the  Lord,  and  bow  down  with  them 
before  the  throne  of  grace. 

If  you  happen  to  be  within  a  Scottish  church,  the  worship 
edifies,  and  even  awes  you,  by  its  great  simplicity,  by  the 
devout  attention  of  the  flock,  and  by  the  singing  of  psalms 
carefully  performed  by  the  faithful,  but  without  the  aid  of 
an  organ.  This  instrument  is  almost  a  Romish  superstition 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Scotch.  The  preacher  commences  his 
discourse,  and  what  strikes  you  is,  not  the  oratorical  arrange- 
ment or  the  brilliant  imagery — the  Scottish  minister,  on  the 
contrary,  aims  at  great  plainness — but  what  is  presented  to 
you  is  a  series  of  thoughts  well  conceived  and  well  ordered. 
The  only  observation  I  have  to  make  is,  that  occasionally  the 
ramifications  of  these  thoughts  are  perhaps  carried  to  an 
extreme.  I  heard  a  Scotch  sermon  which  was  like  a  tree, 
and  the  comparison  is  certainly  not  unfavorable ;  the  doc- 
trine was  exhibited  in  full  detail ;  there  was  not  only  the 
stem,  and  the  limbs,  and  the  branches,  but  even  the  smallest 
bough,  the  slightest  stalk,  the  tiniest  leaf.  The  idea,  the 
doctrine,  was  divided  and  subdivided  almost  to  extinction. 
I  hasten  to  say  that  it  was  not  during  my  last  journey,  but 
some  eight  or  nine  years  ago,  that  I  heard  a  sermon  of  this 
kind  on  justification  by  faith,  preached  by  a  Minister  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  London,  who,  with  a  voice  like 


124  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

thunder,  presented  the  most  minute  and  orthodox  analysis, 
and  in  which  truly  nothing  was  wanting,  nothing,  excepting 
the  essential — the  life.  I  would  have  given  anything  to  have 
had  fewer  distinctions,  orthodox  as  they  were,  and  in  their  stead 
one  single  sigh — one  burst  of  the  soul.  May  God  preserve  our 
churches  from  a  new  scholasticism,  more  pure,  indeed,  than 
the  former,  but  which,  nevertheless  would  be  their  death  ! 

In  Scotland  the  discourses,  and  especially  the  prayers,  are 
rather  long ;  the  latter,  in  my  opinion,  too  much  so.  A 
Christian  alone  in  his  closet  may  pray  for  a  quarter,  a  half, 
a  whole  hour,  or  more  ;  but  when  a  large  assembly  has  been 
praying  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  are  not  most  of  the  hear- 
ers unable  to  follow  the  prayer,  except  on  extraordinary  oc- 
casions, and  sadly  liable  to  wandering  thoughts  ?  On  the 
Continent,  at  least,  it  would  be  thus.  Now,  a  minister 
must  be  all  things  to  all  men,  and  accommodate  himself  to 
the  weaknesses  of  a  large  auditory. 

All  things  considered,  better  preachers  are  to  be  found  in 
Scotland  than  in  any  other  country  of  Christendom.  We  gen- 
erally see,  mingled  in  due  proportion,  in  the  discourses  of  the 
Scottish  preachers,  those  two  elements  which  constitute  all 
Christian  eloquence — the  objective  truth  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  individuality  of  the  preacher  on  the  other.  The  de- 
velopment of  the  latter  principle,  the  subjective  element,  is 
very  prominent  among  some  of  the  leading  men  in  Scotland  ; 
and  this  it  is  which  constitutes  their  eloquence,  but  not  to  the 
injury  of  the  other.  Perhaps,  on  the  contrary,  among  the  mass 
of  the  preachers,  the  former  element  is  too  predominant. 

I  had  the  high  satisfaction  during  my  stay  in  Scotland  of 
hearing  Dr.  Chalmers.  You  know  that  he  was  a  minister 
of  Glasgow,  first  in  the  Tron  Church,  and  afterwards  in  St. 
John's.  Dr.  Brown,  his  friend,  and  successor  in  the  latter 
church,  having  left  the  Establishment  in  1843,  his  people 
built  him  a  Free  church,  in  which  they  studiously  endeav- 
ored to  give  the  architecture  a  certain  style  of  elegance,  in 
order,  no  doubt,  to  show  what  can  be  done  in  our  own  day 


SCOTLAND.  125 

by  the  free  contributions  of  Christians.  The  steeple,  tower, 
and  facade,  of  this  building,  make  it  one  of  the  finest  in 
Scotland.  I  will  not  here  repeat  passages  of  the  sermon ; 
I  have  already  spoken  of  Chalmers ;  and,  besides,  some  of 
his  discourses,  translated  into  French  by  Professor  Diodati, 
one  of  the  best  preachers  of  Geneva,  are  known  to  every 
body.  But  what  I  would  say  is,  that  it  was  the  last  time 
Chalmers  preached  in  Glasgow,  where  he  had  first  begun  to 
be  known  to  the  Christian  world.  You  can  imagine  the  de- 
sire felt  in  that  city  to  hear  him  ;  the  crowds  that  gathered 
from  all  quarters  ;  but  you  can  have  no  idea  of  the  order 
and  the  devotion  of  the  Assembly.  The  collection,  on  leav- 
ing the  church,  amounted  to  40,000  francs  (1600?.),  for  the 
morning  service  only  ;  there  was  another  in  the  afternoon, 
and  one  in  the  evening.  These  40,000  francs,  thrown  into 
the  plate  at  the  church  door  by  Christians  who,  to  build 
this  church,  had  already  taxed  themselves  extraordinarily  in 
considerable  sums,  is  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland.  On  leaving  the  church,  Chalmers 
took  my  arm,  and  we  retired  together.  A  great  crowd 
gathered  in  the  wide  streets  of  Glascow,  to  behold  the  ven- 
erable and  humble  doctor,  the  pride  of  Scotland,  and  we 
could  with  difficulty  make  our  way  along. 

There  is  in  the  Scottish  worship  an  element  of  liberty.  It 
is  the  expression  of  the  free-will  and  the  Christian  piety  of 
the  congregation — there  is  no  liturgy.  On  certain  occasions 
they  even  preach  in  the  streets,  in  the  highways,  in  the  open 
air,  and  always  with  admirable  order,  and  without  those  raille- 
ries and  insults  which  would  not  be  wanting  in  many  countries 
of  the  Continent.  One  Sunday,  while  I  was  in  Edinburgh, 
there  was  a  service  in  Gaelic  (the  language  of  the  Highlands), 
under  a  tent ;  I  went  near,  But  without  understanding  one 
word  of  it.  These  Highlanders,  with  their  short  kilts,  bare 

O 

legs,  plaids  thrown  over  their  shoulders,  and  raised  heads, 
covered  with  their  characteristic  bonnet,  presented  a  most 
picturesque  spectacle. 


126  TRAVELLING   RECOLLECTIONS. 

After  speaking  of  sermons,  shall  I  take  you  to  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  Scotland  ?  The  Scotch  hold 
that  we  cannot  change  the  least  thing  in  the  sacrament  which 
Christ  has  instituted,  without  offending  against  His  kingship. 
They  think  that  the  Supper  celebrated  by  the  Lord  with  his 
disciples,  was  a  true  repast,  and  ought  now  to  be  remembered 
by  us  in  the  position  natural  to  a  meal,  that  is,  neither  kneel- 
ing nor  standing,  but  sitting.  I  had  a  very  fraternal  discus- 
sion on  this  subject  with  a  Scotch  minister.  I  will  not 
dispute  the  principle  on  which  they  act — I  admit  it — I  shall 
only  observe  that  in  the  Supper  there  can  be  no  question  of 
servile  imitation  ;  if  it  were  so,  the  Scotch  themselves  should 
be  rebuked ;  for  the  disciples  were  not  sitting,  they  were, 
according  to  the  Eastern  custom,  reclining  on  small  couches. 
I  will  add  that  there  are  two  positions  in  which  we  may 
place  ourselves  when  about  to  eat.  When  hurried,  on  a 
journey,  or  even  in  haste  at  home,  we  eat  standing.  Thus 
was  the  sacrament  of  the  Paschal  Lamb  originally  instituted. 
"Thus  shall  ye  eat  it,"  said  the  Lord  to  Moses,  "with  your 
loins  girded,  your  shoes  on  your  feet,  and  your  staff  in  your 
hand ;  and  ye  shall  eat  in  haste  :  it  is  the  Lord's  Passover." 
This  standing  posture  to  eat  the  Passover,  which  is  the  one 
we  still  adopt,  well  represents  our  deliverance  from  the 
bondage  of  sin,  as  well  as  the  necessity  of  marching  onward 
from  that  moment  to  meet  Him  whose  death  we  are  to  "  show 
forth  until  He  come."  If,  when  standing  at  the  Supper,  we 
think  of  the  things  signified  thereby,  it  would  be,  I  am  sure, 
a  source  of  much  edification. 

The  Lord's  Supper  in  Scotland,  which  is  celebrated  in  the 
most  complete  silence,  is  very  solemn,  and  recalls  in  a  satis- 
factory manner  its  first  institution.  It  is  kept  only  twice  a 
year,  and  the  Church  of  Scotland  is  thus  distinguished  from 
the  Lutheran  and  Anglican  churches,  in  which  it  is  repeated 
every  week,  or  at  least  every  month.  Each  of  these  two  cus- 
toms has  its  advantages.  Frequent  communion,  more  in 
accordance  with  the  habit  of  the  primitive  Christians,  seems 


SCOTLAND.  127 

more  appropriate  to  select  and  truly  Christian  flocks ;  while 
the  contrary  system,  which  makes  the  days  of  its  celebration 
periods  of  general  penitence  and  solemnities  of  Christian 
brotherhood,  is  most  appropriate  to  multitudinous  churches. 

It  is  only,  however,  to  a  certain  extent  that  the  Church  of 
Scotland  deserves  this  latter  name  ;  ecclesiastical  discipline  is 
enforced  in  the  established,  as  well  as  in  the  free  and  the 
dissenting  churches.  This  ecclesiastical  discipline  may  be 
exaggerated ;  and  it  has  sometimes  been  harsh,  domineering, 
and  superstitious.  But  there  is  a  right  discipline  ;  the  care 
taken  of  the  salvation,  of  the  sanctification,  of  the  Christian 
life  of  every  one  by  the  directors  of  a  church,  whether  minis- 
ters or  elders ;  the  watchful  love  which  they  bear  to  the 
eternal  life  of  the  church  members, — a  serious  love,  which 
would  prevent  them  from  eating  and  drinking  judgment  to 
themselves,  by  partaking  unworthily  of  the  bread  and  the 
cup  of  the  Lord.  On  the  Continent  the  Protestant  churches 
in  general  profess  to  believe,  that  only  two  things  are  essen- 
tial to  a  church  :  Firstly,  the  profession  of  true  doctrine  ; 
and  secondly,  the  administration  of  the  sacraments  con- 
formably to  Christ's  institution.  Wherever  these  things  are 
not  to  be  found,  there  may  be  a  religious  establishment 
maintained  by  the  civil  power,  but  there  is  no  true  church  of 
the  Lord.  It  is  allowed,  however,  on  the  Continent,  that  a 
church  which  has  a  discipline,  is  a  better,  a  more  perfect, 
a  normal  church.  It  is  not  so  with  the  Church  of  Scot- 
laud.  With  her,  discipline  is  a  qualification  which  the  church 
cannot  be  without.  The  first  Confession  of  Faith  of  Scot- 
land, speaking  in  the  eighteenth  chapter  "  Of  the  Notes  by 
which  the  True  Kirk  is  discerned  from  the  False,"  states, 
first,  the  two  signs  we  have  pointed  out,  and  then  adds,  in 
the  last  place,  "  Ecclesiastical  discipline  uprightly  ministered, 
as  God  his  word  prescribeth,  whereby  vice  is  repressed  and 
virtue  nourished."* 

*  Postremo  loco  est  disciplina  ecclesiastica  recte  administrata.  (Conf. 
Scot.  I.  18.) 


128  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

In  Scotland,  as  formerly  in  Geneva,  the  church  rebukes, 
and  even,  if  necessary,  excludes  from  the  Holy  Supper,  those 
who  have  fallen  into  any  scandalous  sin.  The  great  solem- 
nity of  the  Communion  makes  such  an  exclusion  the  more 
sensibly  felt,  and  thus  discipline  keeps  in  the  path  of  duty 
many  persons  who  might  otherwise  easily  go  astray.  Often 
when  a  father  comes  to  ask  for  baptism  for  his  child,  he  is 
answered,  "  You  are  an  unclean  person,  or  a  drunkard ;  what 
assurance  have  we  that  you  will  bring  up  your  child  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  ?"  The  strictness  of  the  Scotch  in  this  re- 
spect is  the  more  natural,  as  they  have  no  godfathers  and 
godmothers  to  take  care  of  the  child,  if  the  parents  neglect 
it.  They  regard  this  institution  as  opposed  to  the  headship 
of  Christ,  who  never  commanded  it ;  and  they  place  it  in  the 
same  rank  as  the  refusal  of  the  cup  in  the  Romish  Church, 
or  the  invention  of  the  five  sacraments  unrecognized  by  the 
Lord.  This  is,  I  think,  going  rather  too  far :  it  is  natural 
that  baptism  should  have  witnesses,  and  with  us  the  god- 
father and  godmother  are  nothing  more. 

As  to  the  instruction  of  the  people,  it  is  much  more  gen- 
erally diffused  in  Scotland  than  in  England.  The  Bible' and 
the  Catechism  are  familiar  to  every  Scottish  child.  Scotland, 
Holland,  and  our  French  Switzerland,  which  are  the  three 
countries  in  which  the  Reformation  was  the  most  complete 
and  the  most  pure,  are  also  of  all  the  countries  of  Christen- 
dom, nay,  even  of  the  world,  those  over  which  intellectual 
culture  is  the  most  universally  spread.  I  have  entered  a 
poor  hut  in  the  Highlands,  built  of  a  few  rough  stones, 
scarcely  rising  above  the  ground,  and  roofed  with  turf,  and 
beside  which  one  of  our  chalets  would  be  almost  a  palace, 
and  I  have  found  hi  it  people  of  pleasing  manners  and  of  a 
remarkable  cultivation,  which  formed  a  striking  contrast  with 
their  poverty.  A  pure  and  living  Christian  church  is  the 
greatest  blessing  that  can  be  granted  to  a  people, — it  is  the 
only  instrument  fitted  to  civilize  nations. 


SCOTLAND.  129 

IV. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  PALACE. 

THE  most  striking  thing  in  Scotland,  at  the  present  time, 
is  the  division  which  took  place  in  her  national  church  in 
1843.  It  is  now  divided  into  two  parts :  the  one  half  re- 
maining Established,  that  is,  connected  with,  and  more  or 
less  subordinate  to,  the  government ;  the  other  having  be- 
come Free,  resembling  what  has  lately  happened  in  the  Can- 
ton de  Vaud.  These  two  parts  of  the  National  Church  of 
Scotland  have  about  an  equal  number  of  adherents.  Though 
even  the  Established  Church  were  the  more  numerous,  (and 
I  do  not  think  it  is,)  the  difference  would  be  compensated  by 
the  zeal  and  fervor  of  the  members  of  the  Free  Church.  In 
such  a  case  we  weigh,  we  do  not  measure. 

At  the  time  when  I  arrived  in  Edinburgh  the  two  churches 
were  drawn  up  in  array.  Their  two  General  Assemblies  (we 
should  call  them  their  two  synods)  were  holding  their  sit- 
tings at  the  same  time,  and  I  saw  both  of  them. 

I  do  not  mean  to  speak  here  as  the  exclusive  friend  of  one 
of  these  churches,  and  the  enemy  of  the  other.  I  do  not 
conceal  my  sympathy  with  the  principles  and  the  works  of 
the  Free  Church,  but  I  wish  to  do  justice  to  the  Established 
Church.  This  church,  transported  to  the  Continent,  would 
be,  both  as  regards  doctrine  and  constitution,  in  advance  of 
many  of  our  national  churches ;  more  so,  for  instance,  than 
a  great  part  of  the  churches  of  Germany  in  their  present 
state ;  than  the  reformed  churches  of  France ;  and,  it  is 
needless  to  add,  more  advanced  than  those  of  Geneva  and 
Vaud.  We  continentals  can  have,  therefore,  no  right  to 
throw  a  stone  at  her.  I  respect  many  of  the  men  who  are 
in  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland.  I  should  like  to 
see  Scotland  united  ;  and  which  of  her  sons  does  not  share 
in  such  a  wish  ?  Far  from  delighting  to  set  the  two  churches 
6* 


130  TRAVELLING   RECOLLECTIONS. 

against  each  other,  like  two  hostile  camps,  I  would  rather 
see  them  draw  towards  each  other  like  two  sisters,  and  com- 
bine into  one  church,  independent  of  political  power.  This 
is  the  best  wish,  I  am  convinced,  that  can  be  formed  for 
Scotland, — for  her  prosperity,  her  holiness,  and  her  glory. 

The  great  distinction  of  the  Established  Church  is  the 
splendor  that  surrounds  her.  A  state  like  that  of  Great 
Britain  is  no  contemptible  matter ;  and  there  can  be  little 
doubt,  that  to  be  the  church  recognized  by  the  state,  and 
kept  up  by  its  favor,  is  a  kind  of  glory,  by  which  many 
minds  on  the  Continent  would  be  swayed.  To  see  in  her 
temples,  when  she  visits  Scotland,  Queen  Victoria,  that  sov- 
ereign of  the  Indies  and  of  the  seas  ;  to  have  on  her  side 
the  greatest  statesmen,  such  as  Peel  and  Aberdeen,  the  two 
houses  of  parliament  of  the  most  powerful  nation  of  the 
globe,  and  the  most  illustrious  and  the  most  learned  lords — 
are  honors  by  which,  for  my  own  part,  1  own  myself  but 
little  impressed,  but  which  must,  nevertheless,  be  a  great 
distinction  hi  the  eyes  of  many. 

Holyrood,  the  ancient  palace  of  the  Scottish  kings,  is  sel- 
dom opened  except  during  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Established  Church :  but  it  is  then  filled  with  guards  and 
officers  ;  while  a  royal  Lord  High  Commissioner  there  rep- 
resents  the  queen.  The  Marquis  of  Bute,  a  Scottish  noble- 
man, respected  by  all  parties,  has  for  some  years  filled  that 
important  office. 

I  saw  both  parties,  and  must  now,  as  characteristic  of 
Scotland  at  present,  say  something  of  them.  I  beg  to  be 
excused  if  I  am  personally  mixed  up  with  them. 

I  begin  with  the  Established  Church,  and  equity  requires 
me  to  say  that  I  have  rather  beheld  her  in  her  relations  with 
the  state,  than  in  herself :  these  relations  are  what  especially 
distinguishes  her,  and  must  consequently  most  attract  the 
attention  of  a  foreigner. 

The  Lord  High  Commissioner  had  the  kindness  to  invite 
me,  through  the  Moderator,  Dr.  Hill,  to  go  and  pay  my  re- 


SCOTLAND.  131 

spects  to  him.  A  stranger  in  the  country,  I  could  only  has- 
ten to  offer  my  homage  to  the  queen's  representative.  A 
carriage  of  the  court  came  to  fetch  us,  and  the  Moderator 
and  I  arrived  at  the  palace  at  his  Grace's  levee  about  ten 
o'clock.  We  crossed  the  courts,  the  halls  and  anti-chambers 
of  that  ancient  edifice,  and  reached  a  spacious  saloon,  where 
stood  the  Lord  High  Commissioner,  in  full  dress,  surrounded 
by  several  noblemen,  officers,  and  other  persons,  who  were 
paying  their  respects  to  him.  A  personage,  wearing  a  black, 
antique,  and  singular  costume,  who  was,  I  think,  the  master 
of  the  ceremonies,  presented  me  to  the  Marquis  of  Bute, 
who,  with  much  kindness,  addressed  me  in  French,  and  in- 
vited me  to  dine  the  same  day  at  the  palace.  I  accepted  the 
invitation  and  withdrew. 

One  of  the  officers  of  the  court  followed  and  said  to  me, 
"  We  are  going  to  the  General  Assembly ;  stay  a  moment, 
and  you  will  go  with  his  Grace."  I  thought  proper  to  re- 
fuse, for  several  reasons,  especially  (this  was  what  I  alleged) 
because  I  had  made  an  engagement  to  see  in  the  course  of 
the  morning  the  Castle,  the  Parliament  House,  the  Univer- 
sity, and  other  curiosities  of  Edinburgh.  "  Well,"  said  one 
of  the  elders  of  the  Established  Church,  with  whom  I  had 
travelled  from  Newcastle  to  Edinburgh,  and  who  had  very 
kindly  welcomed  me,  "  I  will  come  and  meet  you  at  the  Cas- 
tle ;  we  will  go  and  see  the  rest  of  the  lions  together,  and 
among  others,  the  General  Assembly."  I  thanked  him,  and 
agreed.  I  preferred  walking  quietly  into  the  Assembly  to 
going  in  the  Queen's  carriage  with  her  representative.  It 
was  too  high  an  honor  for  me.  " 

When,  after  having  seen  the  Castle  and  the  Parliament 
House,  we  arrived  at  the  church  in  which  the  Established 
General  Assembly  was  sitting  ;  "  As  you  were  presented  to 
his  Grace  this  morning,"  said  my  friend ;  "  we  will  go  to  his 
platform."  I  should  have  preferred  a  more  modest  place, 
but  it  was  impossible  :  a  door  immediately  opened  before 
us,  and  we  were  admitted  to  our  seats,  I  on  the  right,  and 


132  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

my  companion  on  the  left  of  the  throne  of  the  Lord  High 
Commissioner. 

The  platform  in  which  I  was  seated  rises  majestically 
over  the  Moderator's  chair,  as  if  to  represent  the  superiority 
of  the  state  over  the  church.  The  Commissioner's  throne  is 
placed  under  a  rich  canopy  of  crimson  velvet.  Behind  him 
stand  two  little  pages,  with  powdered  hair,  in  full  court 
dresses  of  scarlet ;  in  the  background  were  several  officers 
in  waiting.  The  Marquis  of  Bute,  who  was  in  an  adjoining 
room  when  we  arrived,  entered  almost  immediately  after. 
Below  the  throne  was  the  Assembly,  besides  the  ministers, 
the  elders,  and  a  few  advocates  in  their  gowns  and  wigs, 
representing  the  courts  of  law  which  now  exert  so  great  an 
influence  over  the  Established  Church.  As  for  the  audience 
or  spectators,  they  were  very  few  in  number,  scattered  here 
and  there  in  the  nave ;  and  in  the  galleries  there  were  none. 

"  Ran  nantes  in  gurgite  vasto." 

At  the  sight  of  so  much  grandeur,  and  at  the  same  time 
so  much  coldness,  one  could  not  help  inquiring  whether  this 
Assembly,  which  had  in  its  favor  the  pompous  representa- 
tion of  power,  possessed  also  the  cordial  sympathies  of  the 
people.  However,  I  was  told,  that  in  the  evening  there 
were  more  spectators  present.  After  having  for  a  short  time 
listened  to  their  debates,  the  subject  of  which  I  do  not 
remember,  I  rose,  made  a  low  bow  to  his  Grace,  and  re- 
tired. 

It  was  a  general  wish  that  I  would  make  a  speech  before 
this  Established  Assembly.  My  friend,  Mr.  Frederic  Monod, 
the  delegate  from  Paris,  and  I,  had  even  received  a  deputa- 
tion to  that  effect.  We  thought  it  right  to  refuse.  In  the 
first  place,  it  was  to  the  Free  Church  that  we  had  been 
deputed ;  and  I  was  not  even  aware  that  the  Established 
Church  was  sitting,  until  the  very  moment  of  my  arrival  in 
Edinburgh.  Besides,  we  perceived  that  such  was  the  state 
of  the  public  mind  in  Scotland,  that  we  must  absolutely 


SCOTLAND.  133 

make  a  choice ;  and  thus  we  had  only  to  keep  within  the 
limits  of  our  commission.  In  fact,  neither  of  these  churches 
look  with  complacency  on  those  who  are  undecided ;  and 
this  is  very  natural.  Some  colonial  churches  of  Australia, 
having,  after  much  hesitation  and  wavering  between  the 
Establishment  and  the  Free  Church,  decided  at  last  upon 
belonging  to  "  both  Assemblies :"  this  resolution,  was  not 
only  repulsed  disdainfully  by  the  Established,  but  received 
in  the  Free  Assembly,  while  I  was  present,  with  shouts  of 
laughter.  I  had  no  wish  for  either  of  these  fates.  Besides, 
what  could  I  have  said  in  the  Established  Church  ?  It  would 
have  been  against  my  conscience  not  to  speak  in  all  sincerity ; 
and  yet  my  remarks  would  have  been  out  of  place  before  so 
august  a  body.  I  repeat,  I  should  like  to  see  once  more, 
and  at  no  distant  day,  a  united  Assembly ;  still  I  think  that, 
under  the  circumstances,  Mr.  Monod  and  I  took  the  only 
course  honorable  and  possible.  And  in  fact,  the  deputies 
of  the  Established  Church,  who  behaved  towards  us  with 
much  consideration  and  nobleness,  said  to  us,  "  Had  we  been 
in  your  place  we  should  have  acted  as  you  did." 

In  the  evening  I  returned  to  the  palace,  to  the  state  din- 
ner. In  one  of  the  most  spacious  halls  of  Holyrood  stood 
an  immense  table  magnificently  covered.  There  might  have 
been  about  eighty  guests.  The  Lord  High  Commissioner 
was  seated  in  the  middle,  and  by  his  side  were  placed  two 
Scottish  lords.  Opposite  to  him  was  the  Moderator,  and  on 
his  right  hand  I  was  seated.  On  the  other  side  I  had  the 
Hebraist,  Dr.  Lee,  one  of  the  most  famous  and  amiable  pro- 
fessors of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  Many  toasts  were 
given  for  the  Queen,  the  Church,  Scotland,  &c.  There  were 
only  men  present,  but  the  Lord  High  Commissioner  invited 
six  or  eight  of  the  guests  to  take  coffee  with  the  Marchioness 
of  Bute,  in  her  apartment,  and  had  the  kindness  to  include 
me  in  the  number.  Some  time  after  we  retired,  and  the 
Marquis  accompanied  me  to  the  door  of  the  drawing-room 
with  the  kindest  expressions. 


134  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

V. 

THE    FREE    ASSEMBLY. 

I  NOW  leave  the  Assembly  of  the  Established  Church,  sur- 
rounded by  all  the  pomp  of  royalty,  and  turn  to  that  of  the 
Free  Church.  I  repeat  it,  I  wish  to  be  impartial,  and  I 
think  I  have  been  and  am  so,  notwithstanding  what  some 
persons  may  say.*  I  can  respect  and  admire  the  science 
of  Dr.  Lee,  the  grace  of  Dr.  Hill,  the  seriousness  of  Dr. 
Muir,  the  eloquence  of  Mr.  MacLeod,  and  the  many  other 
eminent  qualities  that  are  to  be  found  in  this  church.  But 
ought  a  traveller  to  carry  impartiality  so  far  as  to  conceal 
the  impressions  he1  has  received  from  the  things  he  has  seen  ? 
I  do  not  think  he  ought,  and  were  I  to  do  so  the  distin- 
guished men  I  have  just  named  would  themselves  be  the 
first  to  condemn  me.  I  will)  therefore,  speak  without  parti- 
ality and  without  fear. 

On  passing  from  one  Assembly  to  the  other,  we  feel  that 
the  state  and  its  power,  the  nobility  and  their  influence,  are 
with  the  Established  Church ;  and  certainly  this  is  some- 
thing. The  Free  Church  has  on  her  side  the  people  and 
their  enthusiasm  ;  but  let  us  not  forget  that  among  this  peo- 
ple there  are  to  be  found  influential  merchants  and  manufac- 
turers, enlightened  lawyers,  respectable  magistrates,  and  no- 
bles belonging  to  the  most  illustrious  houses  of  Scotland. 

Perhaps  the  union  of  Scotland  with  England,  which  re- 
moved the  seat  of  government,  and  afterwards  the  parlia- 
ment itself  from  Edinburgh  to  London,  may  have  contributed 
to  direct  the  attention  of  the  Scottish  people  to  church  mat- 

*  I  was  surprised  to  see  the  contrary  opinion  expressed  by  the  Lord 
Provost  of  Edinburgh,  on  the  occasion  of  an  honor  which  it  was  in- 
tended to  confer  on  me.  I  can  assure  the  Scotch,  that  an  act  of  the 
Town  Council  of  Edinburgh  is  not  necessary  to  my  becoming  their  coun- 
tryman. However  that  may  be,  I  am  at  heart  their  fellow-citizen. 


SCOTLAND.  135 

ters.  The  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  church, 
which  takes  place  every  year  in  Edinburgh  at  the  end  of  May, 
has  become  the  greatest  solemnity  of  Scotland.  The  As- 
sembly sits  for  ten  days,  Sunday  excepted,  from  eleven 
o'clock  till  midnight,  or  sometimes  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  and  if  at  that  late  hour  any  person  wishes  to  retire  be- 
fore the  closing  prayer,  one  of  the  clerks  cries,  "  Lock  the 
doors  !"  and  he  must  stay.  It  is  true,  that  at  ten  o'clock  in 
this  country  it  is  still  light  enough  to  read.  All  church  bus- 
iness is  publicly  transacted  in  the  General  Assembly  ;  and 
in  the  Free  Church,  before  an  immense  auditory,  often  of 
four  thousand  persons. 

I  wish  I  could  give  an  idea  of  the  first  sitting  of  the  Free 
General  Assembly  at  which  I  was  present.  It  was  known 
that  Dr.  Chalmers,  who  had  lately  announced  his  intention 
of  devoting  himself  exclusively  to  his  functions  of  professor 
of  theology,  and  of  retiring  from  all  other  public  business, 
would  on  that  occasion  raise  his  venerated  voice  (some 
thought  for  the  last  time)  to  introduce  three  foreign  ministers, 
sent  to  Scotland  from  France,  Switzerland,  and  Germany. 
They  could  not  certainly  do  us  greater  honor  than  appoint 
Chalmers  to  introduce  us.  The  thought  of  hearing  once 
more  this  venerable  old  man,  whose  life  had  been  so  full  of 
action  and  of  power,  and  whose  voice  (a  fact  before  unheard 
of  in  the  history  of  the  church)  had,  as  if  endowed  with 
magic  power,  twice  covered  the  whole  of  his  country  with 
temples  consecrated  to  the  Lord ;  perhaps  also  the  thought 
of  saluting  the  foreigners,  had  drawn  together  an  extraor- 
dinary concourse.  The  Free  General  Assembly  meets  in  a 
plain,  modest,  but  vast  building,  formerly  destined,  I  be- 
lieve, for  a  manufactory,  situated  at  Cannon  Mills,  at  the  foot 
of  a  hill  on  a  picturesque  road  leading  to  the  sea,  towards 
Fife.  The  hall  is  low,  which  renders  the  atmosphere  stifling ; 
but  it  is  very  spacious.  Under  its  bare  rafters  and  rude 
beams,  which  form  a  strong  contrast  with  the  desert  magnifi- 
cence of  the  Established  Assembly ;  with  no  throne,  no  Lord 


136  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

High  Commissioner,  no  powdered  pages,  was  assembled,  on 
the  evening  of  the  18th  of  May,  an  immense  auditory  enthu- 
siastic for  the  church  and  for  liberty. 

The  ministers  and  elders,  members  of  this  great  synod, 
who  are  very  numerous,  were  seated  round  the  table  and  the 
Moderator's  chair.  A  Christian  people  filled  the  rest  of  the 
hall.  A  number  of  ministers  and  elders,  not  members  of 
Assembly,  had  come  to  Edinburgh  from  different  parts  of 
the  country  on  this  occasion,  and  after  the  morning  meeting, 
many  ladies  and  gentlemen  had  intruded  into  the  benches 
for  the  evening  sitting.  No  one  enters  without  a  ticket, 
which  may  cost  as  much  as  ten  francs,  and  the  hall  is  gen- 
erally filled.  I  shall  never  forget  the  moment  we  entered, — 
my  friend,  Mr.  Frederic  Monod,  of  Paris,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Kuntze,  of  Berlin,  and  I,  following  Chalmers's  steps.  Not 
only  every  seat,  but  every  passage  was  full ;  and  even  where 
there  was  no  possibility  of  standing,  some  had  found  means 
of  suspending  themselves ;  and  groups  of  heads  pressed  to- 
gether, heaped  up,  and  piled  one  above  another,  rose  like  an 
amphitheatre  from  the  floor  to  the  roof.  Long  before  the 
commencement  of  business,  there  was  no  getting  in,  whatever 
price  was  offered  for  a  ticket,  and  a  crowd  surrounded  the 
entrances  without  being  able  to  hear  any  thing.  We  ad- 
vanced slowly,  headed  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  as  it  was  necessary 
for  the  dense  crowd  to  open  and  allow  us  a  passage.  Some 
one  was  reading  at  that  moment  a  report  of  the  committee 
for  the  propagation  of  Christianity  among  the  Jews;  but 
the  instant  Dr.  Chalmers  appeared,  a  general  movement  in- 
terrupted the  reporter.  The  audience  rose,  shouted,  clapped 
their  hands,  stamped,  and  waved  hats  and  handkerchiefs.  I 
can  speak  of  this,  for  I  shared  not  in  these  acclamations ;  I 
had  arrived  only  the  day  before,  and  nobody  knew  my  face. 
Whenever  Chalmers  or  any  other  personage,  either  a  Scotch- 
man or  a  stranger,  who  attracts  much  attention,  appears  in 
the  hall,  he  receives  the  same  salutation,  unless  they  are 
either  praying,  reading  the  Scriptures,  or  singing,  in  which 


SCOTLAND.  137 

case  all  goes  on  in  perfect  silence  ;  but  if  an  orator  is  speak- 
ing,  or  a  report  is  being  read,  the  business,  whatever  it  may 
be,  is  forgotten,  and  the  only  way  of  preventing  this  noisy 
interruption  is  to  glide  behind  some  high  benches,  holding 
down  your  head,  and  thus  slipping  unperceived  into  the 
place  you  are  to  occupy.  The  same  enthusiastic  demonstra- 
tions often  burst  forth  in  the  midst  of  the  speeches  of  the 
most  eloquent  orators.  The  moment  some  powerful  expres- 
sion, some  "  winged  word,"  strikes  the  assembly,  it  acts  like 
a  waterspout  falling  on  a  calm  and  quiet  sea.  The  waters 
move  and  rise ;  the  waves  roll  onward  and  rush  together, 
now  falling,  and  now  dashing  furiously  upwards.  A  Scottish 
assembly  is  no  corpse  that  nothing  can  move,  as  our  own  too 
often  are  ;  it  is  a  living  body  of  extreme  sensibility,  which 
will  start  at  the  slightest  touch.  Yes:  these  multitudes  feel- 
ing so  deep  an  interest  in  the  debates  of  the  church,  for  the 
cause  of  the  people  of  God,  is  a  spectacle  which  even  the 
world  does  not  present,  when  political  debates  are  in  prog- 
ress, and  the  earthly  interests  of  nations  are  at  stake. 
Neither  hi  the  Houses  of  Parliament  in  London,  nor  in  the 
Palais  Bourbon  in  Paris,  is  to  be  seen  any  thing  like  what  is 
witnessed  in  the  Cannon  Mills  at  Edinburgh.  Let  us,  there- 
fore, respect  these  noisy  exhibitions,  however  extraordinary 
they  may  appear  to  us.  It  is  right  that  the  church  should 
somewhere  show  to  that  world  which  so  often  sneers  at  her, 
that  she  is  able  to  feel  more  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  of 
Christ,  than  the  world  does  for  social  and  material  interests. 

We  thus  advanced,  following  the  gray  head  of  Chalmers  : 
a  Parisian  newspaper,  "  l'Esp6rance,"  (generally  Christian, 
but  rather  high  church,)  took  an  opportunity,  in  a  report  of 
this  meeting,  to  speak  jestingly  of  the  circumstances.  "  The 
hoary  head,"  Solomon  declares,  "  is  a  crown  of  glory." 

Chalmers,  as  he  said  at  the  time,  felt  as  if  that  were  the 
most  interesting  moment  of  his  existence.  Can  I  avoid  re- 
peating his  eloquent  and  energetic  discourse  ?  Can  I,  for 
instance,  keep  back  these  words  addressed  so  particularly  to 


138  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

Geneva  ?  "  I  know  not  how  it  is,"  exclaimed  Chalmers, 
"  there  is  no  geographical  relation  between  Geneva  and 
Scotland:  Geneva  is  not  much  in  the  way,  but  certainly 
there  is  a  strong  historical  relation  between  them.  Why, 
in  former  days,  as  by  an  electric  spark  from  Geneva,  the 
moment  that  Knox  landed  upon  our  shores,  a  flame  was 
awakened,  which  quickly  spread  itself  over  all  the  provinces 
of  Scotland.  Could  that  flame  be  again  awakened,  the  cause 
of  truth  might  again  prevail  over  the  counsels  of  the  ungodly, 
as  it  did  centuries  ago,  when  in  the  days  of  Mary  and  of 
James,  it  prevailed  over  the  perfidy  of  courts  !" 

Chalmers  went  still  farther.  His  great  name  has  been 
throughout  both  Scotland  and  England,  as  upon  the  Conti- 
nent, the  apology  of  the  Free  Church.  Many  were  unable 
to  study  the  whole  details  of  the  question  ;  but  Chalmers, 
one  of  the  most  philosophical  minds,  and  one  of  the  most 
Christian  souls  of  our  age,  was  upon  that  side ;  this  was 
sufficient  to  make  them  say,  "  There  lies  the  truth ;"  and  I 
should  not  be  surprised,  if  the  thought  that  a  Corresponding 
Member  of  the  Institute  of  France  was  at  the  head  of  this 
movement,  had  some  influence  in  biasing  the  Journal  des 
Debats  in  its  favor,  as  shown  in  a  remarkable  article  which 
appeared  in  it  at  the  time  of  the  disruption.  The  adversa- 
ries of  the  Free  Church  laying  hold  of  the  fact  that  Chal- 
mers, on  account  of  his  age,  had  retired  from  the  Financial 
Committee,  were  saying,  when  I  arrived  in  England,  that  he 
had  had  enough  of  it,  and  that  he  was  drawing  back.  The 
doctor  thought  it  his  duty,  such  is  my  opinion  at  least,  to 
embrace  this  opportunity  of  declaring,  that  his  sentiments 
were  still  the  same,  and  he  did  so  with  precision  and  energy. 
"  What  I  have  to  say  may  look  a  little  hard  and  exclusive  ; 
nevertheless  I  will  not  forget  the  apostolic  admonition  of 
'  first  pure,  then  peaceable,' — it  may  look  a  little  hard  and 
exclusive ;  but  I  do  confess  to  you  that  I  regard  as  co-ordi- 
nate errors,  standing  upon  the  same  level,  antichristian 
Erastianism  on  the  one  hand,  and  popery  on  the  other . 


SCOTLAND.  139 

(that  is  to  say,  the  doctrine  which  attributes  supremacy  in 
the  church  to  the  state,  and  that  which  attributes  it  to  the 
priest  of  Rome.)  It  is  of  no  consequence  to  me  where  the 
power  that  claims  to  be  paramount  to  the  Bible  springs  from, 
— whether  it  come  from  a  civil  or  from  an  ecclesiastical 
source  ;  it  is  still  human  authority  claiming  precedence  over 
the  dictates  of  that  great  directory  of  our  faith."  These 
words  of  Chalmers  deserve  to  be  well  weighed. 

As  for  the  reproach  of  a  sectarian  spirit,  which  the  adver- 
saries of  the  Free  Church  have  sometimes  addressed  to  her, 
who  is  pure,  except  the  Infallible  One?  I  think  that  in 
every  man,  and  I  will  not  except  myself,  there  lies  the  germ 
of  sectarianism.  But  with  regard  to  the  intention  of  the 
general  spirit  of  a  church,  the  words  which  Chalmers  next 
uttered,  and  the  manner  iii  which  they  were  received,  are  a 
sufficient  answer  to  this  reproach.  "  I  trust,"  said  he,  "  that 
you  will  not  charge  me  with  over-liberality,  if  I  say,  as  I  do 
from  my  conscience,  that  among  the  great  majority  of  evan- 
gelical Dissenters  in  this  country,  I  am  not  aware  of  any 
topics  of  difference  which  I  do  not  regard  as  so  many  men 
of  straw  ;  and  shall  be  exceedingly  delighted  if  these  foreign 
gentlemen  get  the  hearts  of  the  various  denominations  to 
meet  together,  and  consult  to  make  a  bonfire  of  them." 

Here  enthusiastic  cheers,  the  voice  (as  it  were)  of  the  Free 
Church,  interrupted  the  speaker,  and  thus  gave  the  full  sanc- 
tion of  the  Assembly  to  this  condemnation  of  sectarianism. 
"  Yes,"  resumed  Chalmers  with  energy,  the  moment  that  he 
was  allowed  to  proceed  ;  "  while  I  deprecate  the  latitudina- 
rianism  that  would  lay  too  little  stress  on  what  is  important, 
I  feel,  as  if  I  could  not  sufficiently  deprecate  and  denounce 
the  evil  of  that  ultra  and  exclusive  sectarianism  which  lays 
too  great  stress  upon  what  is  insignificant,  and  the  suppression 
of  which  would  remove  a  mighty  obstacle  which  at  present 
lies  in  the  way  of  a  visible  union  of  Christians." 


140  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 


VI. 


SPEECHES    OF   THE    DEPUTIES. 

MK.  MONOD,  Mr.  Kuntze,  and  I,  spoke  in  succession.  I 
will  not  repeat  all  our  speeches  (I  think  mine  lasted  above 
an  hour).  They  have  been  embodied  in  the  official  report 
of  the  General  Assembly.  My  friend,  Mr.  Monod,  gave  a 
very  striking  picture  of  continental  Popery,  that  drew  upon 
him  a  letter  from  the  Romish  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  which 
he  triumphantly  answered.  As  for  myself,  I  will  only  say, 
that  I  endeavored,  among  other  things,  to  show  to  our  breth- 
ren of  the  Free  Church,  that  they  were  placed  in  a  very  fa- 
vorable position  for  becoming  the  engine  of  a  mighty  Chris- 
tian union,  and  that  God  himself  was  calling  them  to  the 
work.  You  know  what  has  since  been  done  :  to  their  Chris- 
tian activity  we  owe  the  meeting  at  Liverpool  and  the  Evan- 
gelical Alliance.  I  trust  that,  with  God's  help,  we  shall  be 
indebted  to  them  for  more  ample  developments  in  time  to 
come.  Satisfied  with  having  called  for  this  great  work  in 
Geneva,  in  St.  Gall,  in  Edinburgh,  in  Liverpool,  and  in  Lon- 
don, I  now  leave  it  in  better  hands. 

Dr.  Gordon,  one  of  the  most  venerable  and  respected 
men  in  Scotland,  after  we  had  done  speaking,  moved  that 
the  Assembly  should  express  its  sincere  gratitude  to  Al- 
mighty God  for  his  great  and  unmerited  goodness  shown  to 
the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  by  permitting  it  to  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  Christian  and  brotherly  communion  with  the 
churches  and  evangelical  societies  of  other  countries.  "  The 
best  wish  I  can  express  for  the  brethren  from  foreign  lands 
who  have  visited  us  this  evening,"  said  he  in  conclusion,  "  is, 
that  they  may  leave  it  with  impressions  as  deep,  as  solemn, 
and  as  salutary,  as  those  which  they  have  left  in  the  minds 
of  this  Assembly." 

The  moderator,  Dr.  Macfarlane  of  Greenock,  then  rose 


SCOTLAND.  141 

and  addressed  to  us  the  answer  of  the  Assembly  with  that 
noble  simplicity  which  characterizes  him.  "  Geneva,"  he 
said,  addressing  himself  particularly  to  me,  "  Geneva,  the 
city  of  Farel  and  Calvin, — had  cast  off  its  first  love,  and  had 
sunk  into  Arianism  and  infidelity.  You  and  my  beloved 
brother,  Dr.  Gaussen,  have  been  two  of  the  honored  instru- 
ments of  reviving  in  it,  evangelical,  I  trust  I  may  add,  spir- 
itual religion.  *  *  *  I  regard  the  formation  of  your  Evan- 
gelical Society  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  events  of  mod- 
ern times, — one  which,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  issue  in  un- 
speakable blessings,  not  to  Geneva  and  Switzerland  only,  but 
to  the  continent  of  Europe." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Brown  of  Glasgow  ended  the  proceedings 
with  a  most  simple  and  deeply  affecting  prayer.  We  felt 
that  the  Lord  was  in  the  midst  of  us.  The  auditors,  to  the 
number  of  four  or  five  thousand,  raised  their  voices  together 
to  God  in  a  solemn  and  thrilling  strain ;  and  then  the  As- 
sembly adjourned  between  one  and  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, without  having,  for  an  instant,  ceased  to  exhibit  the 
most  earnest  attention,  and  the  most  lively  and  Christian  in- 
terest. 

One  word  more,  and  I  have  done.  I  also  can  say,  like 
Chalmers,  that  the  28th  of  May,  1845,  was  one  of  the  most 
interesting  moments  of  my  existence.  Such  days  are,  no 
doubt,  exciting  ;  perhaps,  for  that  very  reason,  oppressive  to 
the  body :  but  we  are  also  supported  from  on  High ;  we  en- 
joy the  purest  delights ;  and  hence  our  strength  is  renewed. 
I  have  seen  a  foreigner,  who  being  drawn  into  the  midst  of 
the  movement  of  this  Scottish  vortex,  during  these  chosen 
days,  had  no  longer  a  thought  at  his  command.  Every  thing 
was  in  a  whirl,  both  within  and  without ;  and  his  only  desire 
was  to  be  quiet  and  unnoticed,  under  some  pine,  in  some 
lonely  mountain  glen.  But  this  desire  of  solitude  and  peace, 
so  natural  in  the  midst  of  incessant  activity,  is  in  a  manner 
realized  in  Scotland  every  seven  days,  for  there  is  every  week 
the  day  of  rest,  the  Sunday  so  precious  to  Scotland,  which 


142  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

refreshes  you.  Besides,  when  we  remember  that  the  primary 
and  true  principle  of  the  bustle  and  eagerness  of  these  great 
assemblies  is  the  love  of  God,  and,  that  the  true  end  of  them 
is  the  glory  of  God,  we  can  easily  bear  the  fatigue  which 
accompanies  them. 

I  was  ill  when  I  left  the  Continent,  I  hadJbeen  unwell  all 
the  winter,  and  I  was  but  very  imperfectly  acquainted  with 
the  English  language  in  which  I  had  to  express  my  thoughts  ; 
yet  I  set  out  with  the  belief  that  I  was  fulfilling  a  duty,  and 
trusting  in  the  Lord.  This  help  never  failed  me ;  God  car- 
ried me  in  His  arms.  In  one  day  I  had  to  speak  three  times 
before  large  assemblies,  and  to  set  out  immediately  after- 
wards to  speak  in  another  town ;  yet,  I  repeat,  He  never 
failed  me.  The  Lord  gave  me  words,  strength,  and  rest ;  at 
the  same  time  surrounding  me  with  the  most  unmerited  and 
valuable  kindness.  It  is  good  to  take  Him  for  a  master. 
We  must  work,  for  the  Lord  has  said,  "  Work  while  it  is 
day ;"  but  woe  to  him  who  glories  in  his  own  work !  Jesus 
opened  eyes  with  clay  ;  does  the  clay  think  of  glorying  ? 
Let  us  labor,  if  we  can,  with  Peter,  with  Paul,  and  with 
Martha  ;  but,  after  our  labors  are  ended,  let  us  sit  down  with 
David,  with  John,  and  with  Mary,  at  the  feet  of  the  Master, 
and  say  to  Him,  "  Consume  with  thy  fire  the  impurities  I 
have  mingled  with  my  offering,  and  bring  out  of  it  a  sweet 
savor  to  thine  own  glory."  Yes,  there  is  only  one  glory, 
that  of  being  the  least  in  the  household  of  God !  May  God 
grant  it  unto  us ! 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE    SCOTTISH    QUESTION. 

1.  The  Produce  of  Scotland.  Development  of  Being.  The  two  Influ- 
ences. The  two  Swords.  Task  of  the  Reformation. — 2.  Distinc- 
tions between  the  Evangelical  and  the  Moderate  Parties.  Not  in 
Doctrine.  Person  of  Christ.  The  two  Natures.  The  Arminian 
Question. — 3.  The  Church  Question.  Distinction  between  Scotland 
and  England.  Different  Origins  of  their  Churches.  Scotland  con- 
sidered from  the  English  point  of  View.  Should  Scotland  draw 
nearer  to  England,  or  England  to  Scotland  1 — 4.  Doctrine  of  Scot- 
land respecting  the  Church.  Kingship  of  Christ.  His  Laws.  His 
Ministers.  Spiritual  and  Temporal  Government.  Incapacity  of  the 
latter  to  goverji  the  Church. — 5.  Government  of  Christ  opposed  to 
that  of  Antichrist.  The  Reformation  cannot  be  a  mere  Negation. 
The  Right  of  Scotland.  The  two  Principles  of  the  Secession :  1st. 
Non-intrusion;  2d.  Spiritual  Independence.  A  Theorem  and -two 
Corollaries.  Essential  Cause  of  the  Disruption. — 6.  The  Scottish 
and  the  Separationist  Systems.  Differences.  Complete  and  Imper- 
fect. Positive  and  Negative.  Doctrine  and  Discipline.  Effectual 
and  Ineffectual.  Claims  of  the  State. — 7.  Three  Phases  of  the  Scot- 
tish Church.  Conscience  and  Expediency.  Discord  not  Union. 
Accusation.  Complement.  The  Solar  System. 


I. 

TWO    INFLUENCES. 

I  HAVE  stated  my  general  impressions  of  Scotland :  but 
is  this  all  I  have  to  say  of  her  ?  Here  are  public  places, 
temples,  palaces  ;  there,  mountains,  plains,  and  lakes.  Who 
are  they  who  frequented  those  temples,  those  palaces,  those 
markets?  What  has  taken  place  on  those  plains?  And 
what  interests  have  moved  the  hearts  of  the  inhabitants  of 


144  TRAVELLING   RECOLLECTIONS. 

those  Highlands  ?  Can  I  only  behold  Scotland  in  the  pres- 
ent ?  No :  when  first  I  set  my  foot  on  this  venerable  land,, 
it  was  the  Scotland  of  three  centuries  ago  that  appeared  be- 
fore me. 

I  have  been  in  Scotland  ;  what  shall  I  bring  you  from 
thence  ?  If  a  traveller  returning  from  distant  countries, 
from  the  Tropics  or  from  China,  brings  home  to  his  country- 
men the  rich  productions  of  their  soil,  shall  I  not  bring  home 
to  you  that  excellent  plant  which  God  has  caused  to  flourish 
in  the  Caledonian  regions  ?  If  another  traveller  brings  from 
England  information  as  to  manners  and  the  laws  of  political 
science  ;  and  if  one  in  particular  of  our  fellow-citizens,  (De- 
lolme,)  has  rendered  himself  illustrious  by  a  work,  which  has 
contributed  to  establish  constitutional  rule  in  Europe,  shall  I 
not  bring  back  to  you  from  Scotland  those  manners  and  laws 
of  the  church,  which  so  eminently  distinguish  her  among 
nations  ? 

As  I  was  engaged  with  various  occupations,  I  might  have 
kept  silence,  when  asked  for  an  account  of  my  journey.  But 
this  it  is  which  induces  me  to  speak.  Scotland  has  a  mission 
in  the  Christian  world,  and  in  order  that  this  mission  may 
be  accomplished,  we  should  become  acquainted  with  it.  If 
Scotland  is  intrusted  with  a  mission  to  the  Continent,  in 
what  part  of  the  Continent  should  this  mission  be  recognized 
and  pointed  out  ?  Who  is  called  upon  to  act  as  mediator 
between  Scotland  and  the  rest  of  the  church,  if  not  Geneva? 
You  have  already  heard  Chalmers  upon  the  relationship  ex- 
isting between  Scotland  and  Geneva. 

Every  being,  in  order  to  prosper,  must  have;  a  develop- 
ment peculiar  to  itself,  sui  generis,  as  it  is  called.  If  once  for- 
eign influences  come  to  be  mingled  with  it,  that  development 
is  compromised.  It  is  thus  with  every  plant,  every  animal, 
every  man,  and  even  with  inorganic  beings.  Ask  the  Rhone 
wherefore,  after  leaving  our  lake  as  pure  as  the  sky  itself,  it 
becomes  so  muddy  ?  'It  is  because  the  sandy  torrent  com- 
ing down  from  Mont  Blanc,  mingles  its  troubled  waters 


THE    SCOTTISH    QUESTION.  145 

with  the  azure  wave  of  the  river ;  the  confluence,  the  union 
defiles  it. 

"the  Christian  church  had  at  first,  like  our  Rhone,  a  sepa- 
rate existence,  a  development  of  her  own,  and  she  was  then 
comparatively  pure.  But  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, the  half  Pagan  state  became  united  to  her,  and  this 
juncture  immediately  threw  into  the  heavenly  blue  of  the 
church  those  muddy  waters  which  deform  her  beauty.  The 
church  comes  from  God ;  but  she  is,  she  must  be,  on  the 
earth,  and  therein  lies  her  danger.  If  you  tie  her  down  to 
the  earth,  closer  than  is  strictly  necessary ;  if  you  unite  her 
intimately  with  civil  order :  if  you  give  political  society  a 
power  over  her :  the  evil  becomes  alarming.  The  church 
thenceforth  will  have  two  principles  of  development ;  on  the 
one  hand,  the  Word  and  the  Spirit  of  God ;  on  the  other, 
the  policy  and  the  diplomacy  of  the  world.  How  can  a  so- 
ciety prosper  subjected  to  two  such  contrary  influences? 
Know  you  not  that  in  education,  homogeneous  influence  is 
a  primary  condition  ?  Know  you  not  that  a  ship  must  be 
carried  forward  by  one  current  alone  ;  and  if  a  contrary  cur- 
rent interfere,  the  result  is  a  dangerous  whirlpool,  and  per- 
haps a  dreadful  gulf  in  which  the  ship  will  be  swallowed 
up.  Christ  has  established  the  church  under  one  headship, 
and  that  is  His  own. 

The  state  having  intermixed  its  headship  in  the  church 
since  the  era  of  Constantine,  political  society  being  inter- 
woven with  the  spiritual,  it  became  necessary  to  return  to 
the  order  of  things  from  whence  they  set  out,  and  recom- 
mence the  primitive  existence.  This  was  one  of  the  tasks  of 
the  sixteenth  century. 

It  was  the  more  indispensable,  as  this  double,  half-politi- 
cal, half- spiritual  existence,  was  realized  in  its  greatest  com- 
pleteness in  the  Papacy.  You  all  know  the  famous  fable  of 
Rome,  about  the  two  swords.  The  Popes  pretend  that  the 
saying  addressed  by  St.  Peter  to  his  master,  "  Here  are  two 
swords,"  signifies  that  the  spiritual  and  the  temporal  power 

7 


146  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ought  to  be  united,  and  united  in  the  hands  of  the  Pope. 
Certainly  St.  Peter  had  little  idea  of  what  he  was  saying. 

What  is  at  this  moment  (1846)  agitating  the  Legations 
and  the  States  of  the  Church  ?  It  is  the  desire  of  separat- 
ing these  two  powers — a  desire  which  Rome  obstinately  re- 
sists ;  knowing  that  from  the  moment  she  is  no  longer  sup- 
ported by  the  sword,  by  musketeers,  and,  alas  !  by  Swiss, 
she  will  fall  into  contempt,  and  her  end  will  not  be  far  dis- 
tant. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  be  a  complete  work,  the  Reforma- 
tion ought  to  correct  that  evil. 

She  has  partly  done  so  in  Germany,  France,  and  Geneva; 
but  it  was  especially  in  Scotland  that  the  church,  which  ever 
since  the  fourth  century  had  led  a  twofold  existence,  half 
civil,  half  spiritual,  like  one  of  the  monsters  of  antiquity, 
returned  to  its  pure  source,  and  commenced  anew  a  single 
and  divine  existence. , 

Many  Protestant  churches,  depriving  the  Pope  of  the  su- 
premacy he  had  usurped,  consented  that  the  magistrate  or 
the  king  should  take  upon  him  that  jurisdiction,  and  thus 
maintain,  under  another  form,  that  confusion  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious things  which  is  to  be  found  in  Popery.  The  Church 
of  Scotland,  on  the  contrary,  asserting  that  it  was  the  place 
of  Christ  himself  which  the  Pope  had  usurped,  resisted 
every  effort  made  by  the  political  power  to  take  possession 
of  it.  This,  then,  is  the  point  from  which  diverge  the  two 
parties  now  existing  within  the  national  church  of  Scotland, 
the  Evangelical,  and  the  Moderate  party  ;  the  former  com- 
posing the  Free  Church,  the  latter  the  church  established  by 
the  state. 

II. 

DOCTRINE. 

IN  fact,  the  difference  between  these  parties  lies  not, 
properly  speaking,  in  doctrine.  The  Moderate  party,  though 


THE   SCOTTISH   QUESTION.  147 

doubtless  less  strict  and  less  vital  than  the  other,  and  though 
towards  the  end  of  the  last  century  very  near  falling  into 
Arianisra,  is  now  in  general  applying  itself  to  maintain  pu- 
rity of  doctrine  ;  and  I  have  often  thought,  that  on  the 
Continent,  it  would  be  happy  for  us  if  our  national  churches 
professed  so  orthodox  a  faith.  The  difference  does  not  arise 
in  Scotland,  as  in  Geneva,  France,  or  Germany,  from  the 
one  being  Unitarian  and  Pelagian,  while  the  other  is  ortho- 
dox and  evangelical :  no,  all  are  orthodox  in  Scotland.  Jus- 
tice requires  us  to  acknowledge  this. 

One  of  the  most  amiable  men  I  met  with  in  Scotland  was 
Dr.  Hill,  then  moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Established  Church,  who  showed  me  a  kindness  which  I  re- 
member with  sincere  gratitude.  While  we  were  in  the  car- 
riage which  was  taking  us  to  the  Palace  of  Holyrood,  I 
asked  him  if  he  were  any  relation  to  Dr.  George  Hill,  the 
author  of  some  remarkable  Lectures  on  Divinity.  "  He  was 
my  father,"  said  he,  seemingly  much  pleased  that  his  parent's 
writings  were  known  on  the  Continent.  There  are  in  Eu- 
rope, and  not  far  from  this  place,  many  academies  in  which 
I  would  fain  see  professed  the  doctrines  which  the  late  Dr. 
Hill  taught  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews.  This  is  worth 
stopping  to  consider.  If  it  is  evident  that,  what  is  com- 
monly  called,  among  us,  "  doctrines  essential  to  salvation," 
are  not  implicated  in  the  Scottish  question,  I  am  of  opinion 
that  the  church,  which  is  capable  of  producing  by  its  indi- 
vidual efforts,  movements  so  considerable  and  sacrifices  so 
wonderful,  must  rise  the  higher  in  our  eyes  in  grandeur  and 
importance. 

Would  you,  therefore,  know  what  the  party  opposed  to 
the  evangelical — or,  as  it  would  here  be  called,  the  Metho- 
distical  party — taught,  and  is  yet  teaching  in  Scotland,  upon 
the  person  of  Christ  ?  I  like  to  repeat  it  in  this  town  of  Ge- 
neva, wherein  the  divinity  of  Christ  and  the  Holy  Trinity  are 
so  obstinately  combated  and  denied.  These  are  the  words 
of  the  moderate  Scottish  doctor : — "  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Ore- 


148  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ator  of  the  world.  *  *  *  The  Jehovah  who  appeared  to 
the  patriarchs  was  worshipped  in  the  temple,  and  by  the 
prophets  announced  as  the  Author  of  a  new  dispensation. 

*  *     *     We  find  the  Scriptures  ascribing  to  Jesus  an  ex- 
istence without  beginning,  without  change,  without  limitation ; 
and  connected,  in  the  whole  extent  of  space  which  it  fills, 
with  the  exercise  of  the  most  perfect  intelligence.    These  are 
the  essential  attributes  of  Deity.     Measures  of  power  may 
be  communicated ;  degrees  of  wisdom  and  goodness  may  be 
imparted  to  created  spirits ;  but  our  conceptions  of  God  are 
confounded,  and  we  lose  sight  of  every  circumstance  by  which 
he  is  characterized,  if  such  a  manner  of  existence  as  we  have 
now  described,  be  common  to  him  and  any  creature."* 

In  another  place  the  Moderate  theologian  says, — "  It  is  by 
the  union  of  two  natures  in  one  person  that  Christ  is  quali- 
fied to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  *  *  *  Had  Jesus  been 
only  man,  or  had  he  been  one  of  the  spirits  that  surround  the 
throne  of  God,  he  could  not  have  accomplished  the  work 
which  he  undertook ;  for  the  whole  obedience  of  every  crea- 
ture being  due  to  the  Creator,  no  part  of  that  obedience  can 
be  placed  to  the  account  of  other  creatures,  so  as  to  supply 
the  defects  of  their  service,  or  to  rescue  them  from  the  pun- 
ishment which  they  deserve.  The  Scriptures,  therefore,  re- 
veal that  he  who  appeared  upon  earth  as  man  is  also  God, 
and,  as  God,  was  mighty  to  save ;  and  by  this  revelation,  they 
teach  us  that  the  merit  of  our  Lord's  obedience  and  the  effi- 
cacy of  his  interposition,  depend  upon  the  hypostatical  union. 

*  *    *     The  hypostatical  union,"  adds  the  doctor  of  St. 
Andrews,  "  is  the  corner-stone  of  our  religion."f 

This  was  what  was  taught  in  Scotland  in  the  age  of  Vol- 
taire and  Rousseau;  and  is  now  still  taught  in  the  party 
opposed  to  the  Evangelicals,  for  the  theology  of  Dr.  Hill  is 
the  text-book  of  the  lectures  of  their  professors. 

*  Lectures  on  Divinity,  bj  the  late  George  Hill,  D.  D.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  iv. 
201. 

t  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  pp.  249.  251. 


THE    SCOTTISH   QUESTION.  149 

I  will  not  exhibit  the  St.  Andrews'  doctor,  victoriously  es- 
tablishing these  great  truths, — that  there  is  one  God  in  three 
persons,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  that  there 
exists  original  and  hereditary  sin,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  whole  human  race  is  corrupt  and  guilty  before  God ; 
that  the  sufferings  of  Christ  are  the  punishment  of  sin,  and 
the  effects  ascribed  to  them  are  reconciliation  and  redemp- 
tion ;  that  in  order  for  this  immense  grace  to  be  applied  to  a 
sinner,  there  must  be  within  him,  by  the  works  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  regeneration,  conversion,  and  faith  ;  from  which  pro- 
ceeds justification  ;  and  from  justification  repentance,  sancti- 
fication  and  good  works.  But  you  will,  perhaps,  wonder 
more  if  I  tell  you  of  the  lectures  of  Dr.  Hill,  upon  the  doc- 
trines of  Arminius  and  Calvin  compared.  You  are  aware 
that  Arminius  was  a  Dutch  theologian  in  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  that  it  was  by  the  introduction 
of  his  lax  opinions  that  the  reformed  churches  of  Geneva  and 
France  began  to  depart  from  the  doctrines  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. This  part  of  Dr.  Hill's  work  had  always  struck  me  : 
I  said  so  to  his  son,  the  Moderator.  He  replied  with  an  ami- 
able smile,  that  it  was,  in  fact,  the  part  on  which  his  father 
had  taken  most  pains,  and  with  which  he  was  particularly 
pleased. 

I  must  be  excused  if  this  is  tedious.  Having  been  called 
upon  as  a  theologian  to  speak  of  Scotland,  how  can  I  do  so 
without  speaking  of  theology  ?  Were  I  asked  to  speak  of 
railways,  or  things  of  that  kind,  I  should  answer  that  I  am 
no  engineer.  If  you  will  have  me  talk  of  Scotland,  I  must, 
whether  you  like  it  or  not,  occupy  a  few  minutes  with  the- 
ology, otherwise  you  will  have  nothing  of  Scotland, — of  its 
characteristics.  To  speak  of  Scotland  without  theology,  is 
to  say  nothing  about  it.  "  The  Arminian  system,"  says  the 
Doctor  of  St.  Andrews,  "  while  in  words  it  ascribes  all  to  the 
grace  of  God,  does,  in  effect,  resolve  our  salvation  into  some- 
thing independent  of  that  grace."* 
*  Lectures  on  Divinity,  by  the  late  George  Hill,  D.  D.,  vol.  iii.  p.  80. 


150  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

"  For,  while  the  grace  of  God  and  the  will  of  man  are  con- 
ceived (in  the  Arminian  system)  to  be  partial  causes,  concur- 
ring in  the  production  of  the  same  effect  (as  it  may,  perhaps, 
be  said,  that  a  horse,  and  the  coachman  who  whips  it,  are 
two  partial  causes  of  the  progress  of  the  car),  the  grace  of 
God  is  only  a  remote  cause  of  salvation — a  cause  operating 
indifferently  upon  all ;  sufficiently,  indeed,  but  often  ineffec- 
tual. The  proximate,  specific  cause  of  salvation,  by  which 
the  effects  of  the  universal  cause  are  discriminated,  is  (ac- 
cording to  the  Arminians,  whom  we  assert  to  be  wrong,)  to 
be  found  in  the  qualities  of  the  subject  which  receives  the 
grace  of  God,  since  upon  these  qualities  it  depends  whether 
this  grace  shall  overcome  or  shall  be  counteracted."* 

"  For,  if  the  grace  which  is  given  indifferently  to  two  per- 
sons, John  and  Judas,  which  is  sufficient  for  both,  and  might 
have  been  resisted  by  both,  is  not  resisted  by  John,  and  in 
consequence  of  that  non-resistance  conducts  him  to  salvation, 
but  is  resisted  by  Judas,  and  in  consequence  of  that  resist- 
ance proves  ineffectual ;  '  *  *  *  Thou  didst  give  to  my 
neighbor,'  may  the  former  say,  '  as  to  me  :  but  my  will  has 
improved  what  thou  gavest,  while  the  will  of  my  neighbor 
has  resisted  all  thine  operations.'  This  language,  which  the 
Arminians  must  suppose  every  one  that  is  saved  entitled  to 
hold  to  the  Almighty,  by  implying  that  man  has  something 
independent  of  the  grace  of  God,  whereof  he  may  boast, 
and  whereby  he  may  distinguish  himself  from  other  men  in 
the  sight  of  God,  not  only  contradicts  the  doctrine  of  original 
sin,  and  those  lessons  of  humility  which  the  Gospel  uni- 
formly teaches  (and  that  declaration  of  Scripture,  '  What 
hast  thou,  oh  man,  which  thou  hast  not  received  ?'),  but 
seems  to  involve  the  Arminians  themselves  in  contradiction. 
por  *  *  *  while  in  words  they  ascribe  all  good  works  to 
the  grace  of  God,  they  suspend  the  beginning,  the  progress, 
and  the  continuance  of  these  good  works  upon  the  will  of 
man."  These  are  the  words  of  the  professor  of  St.  Andrews.f 

*  Lect.  on  Divinity,  vol.  iii.  p.  89.  f  Ibid.  p.  90,  91. 


THE    SCOTTISH    QUESTION.  151 

I  need  not  say  that  the  Scottish  theologians  do  not'think 
that  man  is  to  be  saved  without  free  will, — his  own  free  will ; 
they  only  say  that  the  will  which  necessarily  enters  into  the 
work  of  salvation,  is  a  will  purified,  regenerated  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  virtue  of  the  election  of  God. 

But  I  will  go  no  further  into  theology ;  let  this  sample  suf- 
fice :  and  I  repeat,  that  I  have  not  taken  it  from  the  writings 
of  evangelical  divines,  because  it  might  perhaps  have  been 
said  to  me,  "  These  are  the  Scottish  enthusiasts  ;  they  are 
to  be  found  everywhere."  No,  I  have  chosen  my  specimens 
from  among  the  Moderates,  as  they  are  called  hi  Scotland, 
and  they  have  no  other  name  there.  I  have  taken  my  sam- 
ple from  among  the  national  party,  from  a  church  united  to 
the  state. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  so  pure  a  doctrine,  even 
among  those  who  are  not  called  Evangelicals,  redounds  to 
the  honor  of  Scotland  at  large,  without  any  party  distinction. 
I  am  no  party  man,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  so,  and  wherever  I 
find  any  thing  praiseworthy,  I  give  it  praise.  I  have  to  add, 
(and  after  what  I  have  just  said  of  its  doctrine  you  will  not 
be  surprised  at  this,)  that  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  united  to  the  state,  desiring  last  year 
(1845)  "  to  draw  closer  the  bonds  of  Christian  union  between 
herself  and  all  the  churches  which  maintain  the  truth  as  it  is 
in  Jesus" — these  are  its  own  expressions, — and  having  pro- 
posed to  write  to  the  Church  of  Geneva,  has  addressed  the 
Evangelical  Society  of  Geneva  which  meets  in  this  place. 
This  society  has  received  three  letters  from  the  Convener  of 
the  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  the  established  Church 
of  Scotland  with  foreign  churches.  But  for  some  time  there 
have  been  no  other  communications. 


152  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

III. 

THE   TWO    EXTREMITIES    OF   THE    SCALE. 

IF  they  are  so  well  agreed  upon  these  important  points,  in 
what,  then,  do  the  Evangelical  and  the  Moderate  parties  dif- 
fer in  Scotland  ?  It  is  in  the  doctrine  of  the  church  with 
regard  to  its  relations  with  the  state. 

The  Free  Church  has  remained  steadfast  to  the  character- 
istic principles  of  Scotland.  The  Moderate  party,  the  pres- 
ent Established  Church,  appears  to  me  to  have,  unthink- 
ingly, deviated  towards  the  principles  established  in  England. 

A  comparison  between  the  Church  of  Scotland  and  that 
of  England,  may  make  the  essence  of  the  former  more  easily 
understood.  It  is  acknowledged  in  Scotland  that  there  may 
be  a  union  between  the  church  and  the  state.  I  will  not  just 
now  examine  whether  this  is  right  or  wrong  ;  but  I  merely 
observe  that,  to  realize  this  union,  they  think  it  requisite  not 
to  mingle  or  confound,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  distinguish 
and  separate  with  the  greatest  possible  exactness,  the  tempo- 
ral and  the  spiritual  interests ;  in  order,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and,  on  the 
other,  to  render  to  God  the  things  that  are  God's. 

In  England,  the  contrary  has  been  done  :  there  was,  orig- 
inally at  least,  more  than  union  between  the  church  and  the 
state, — there  was  unity  of  both ;  and  instead  of  distinguish- 
ing and  separating  the  spiritual  from  the  temporal  interests, 
as  in  Scotland,  they  took  the  opposite  way,  and  have  inti- 
mately united,  and  completely  interwoven  them. 

Of  all  the  churches  of  the  Reformation,  the  Church  of 
Scotland  is  the  one  in  which  the  principle  of  the  independ- 
ence of  the  church,  as  to  the  state,  has  been  carried  to  the 
greatest  extreme ;  while  the  church  of  England,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  the  one  in  which  the  principle  of  the  royal  preroga- 
tive, or  supremacy,  has  been  the  most  strictly  realized.  Thus 
the  two  churches,  which  are  geographically  next  to  each 


THE   SCOTTISH   QUESTION.  153 

other,  are  placed,  as  to  ecclesiastical  principles,  at  the  two 
extremities  of  the  scale. 

These  very  different  modes  of  realizing  the  union  of  the 
two  bodies,  originate  in  the  manner  in  which  the  Reforma- 
tion was  brought  about  in  the  two  nations. 

In  Scotland,  the  Reformation  proceeded  from  the  conver- 
sion of  souls  among  the  people ;  it  made  its  way  from  the 
inward  to  the  outward,  from  low  to  high.  In  England,  there 
was  a  similar  Reformation ;  but  there  was  also  another,  and 
it  was  this  latter  which  bestowed  her  peculiar  constitution 
on  the  Anglican  Church.  In  that  country  the  movement 
which  organized  the  church  proceeded  from  the  king  and  a 
few  bishops ;  it  operated  from  the  outward  to  the  inward, 
from  high  to  low.  It  was,  therefore,  natural  to  expect  that 
the  Christian  people  should  bear  rule  in  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, and  the  Christian  state,  on  the  other  hand,  govern  in 
the  Church  of  England. 

This  explains  why  there  is  now,  in  a  considerable  number 
of  the  ministers  and  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  a 
decided  movement  towards  Rome.  By  the  principles  above 
stated,  the  Church  of  England  comes  near  to  that  of  Rome, 
though  in  other  respects  they  are  as  far  apart  as  heaven  from 
earth.  In  both,  the  Christian  people  have  but  few  rights, 
and  must  remain  more  or  less  passive;  while,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  which  is  realized  to  the 
greatest  extent  what  we  have  called  the  Genevan  element, — 
that  church  in  which  in  great  measure  are  to  be  found  the 
rights  and  the  vitality  of  the  Christian  people,  forms  of  all 
the  Protestant  churches  the  most  decided  contrast  to  the 
Papacy. 

There  is  great  injustice  in  judging  of  Scotland,  as  is  fre- 
quently done  in  England,  from  the  English  point  of  view. 
They  misunderstand  the  very  essence  of  the  Scottish  Church, 
who  assimilate  it  in  principle  with  the  Church  of  England, 
and  then  conclude  that  the  Scotch  are  a  turbulent  people, 
and  are  acting  very  improperly.  But  justice  requires  us, 

7* 


154  TRAVELLING   RECOLLECTIONS. 

when  we  judge  of  a  church,  to  apply  to  it  its  own  rules,  and 
not  those  rules  with  which  it  is  unacquainted.  Yet  by  fol- 
lowing out  the  contrary  plan,  a  wrong  has  been  done  in 
England,  not  only  by  the  government,  but  by  many  ministers 
and  members  of  the  church.  Let  us  hope  they  will  soon 
view  it  aright. 

It  may  be  asked,  Should  Scotland  draw  towards  the  prin- 
ciples of  England,  or  should  England  draw  towards  those  of 
Scotland  ?  This  is  a  question  of  importance.  The  English 
government,  under  Sir  Robert  Peel,  decided  for  the  former 
alternative.  If  I  am  to  express  my  own  opinion  candidly 
and  fearlessly,  I  will  say,  that  I  incline  towards  the  latter. 

Two  tendencies,  or  rather  two  facts,  of  the  present  day, 
which  are  now  developing  themselves  in  England  in  a  decided 
and  alarming  manner,  seem  to  call  upon  that  country  to  draw 
closer  towards  the  principles  of  Scotland. 

The  first  of  these,  is  the  manner  in  which  an  important 
part  of  the  Church  of  England  is  from  day  to  day  drawing 
nearer  Rome.  If  they  desire  to  oppose  Rome,  it  cannot  be 
done  by  resembling  her,  or  by  placing  dependence  upon  the 
hierarchy,  or  upon  the  assistance  of  the  state,  as  Rome  her- 
self does ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  by  a  contrast  with  Rome,  by 
seeking  support  in  the  faith  and  activity  of  a  Christian  people. 

The  second  of  these  facts,  is  the  ever  increasing  tendency 
of  the  English  government  to  detach  itself  from  Protestant 
interests,  and  to  sacrifice  them  to  political  expediency.  When 
once  the  government  withdraws  its  patronage  from  the 
Christian  people,  ought  not  these  people  to  arise,  bestir 
themselves  in  their  own  affairs,  and  undertake  to  defend 
themselves  ? 

I  therefore  think  that  England,  in  the  serious  circum- 
stances in  which  she  is  now  placed,  instead  of  striving 
against  Scotland,  and  always  opposing  her  views,  would  do 
much  better  to  study  impartially  the  principles  there  pro- 
fessed, and  to  apply  them  in  the  degree  in  which  they  are 
applicable  to  herself ;  for  that  the  Church  of  England  ought 


THE    SCOTTISH    QUESTION.  155 

to  preserve  her  own  distinctive  character,  is  what  we  do  not 
mean  to  contest. 

In  England,  on  the  contrary,  it  will  be  thought  that  Scot- 
land ought  to  approach  nearer  to  the  governmental  system ; 
or,  at  least,  that  Scotland  and  England  ought  to  persist, 
each  in  its  own  way,  in  the  system  peculiar  to  itself.  In 
many  respects,  no  doubt,  they  should ;  but  I  do  not  think 
they  ought  to  do  so  in  all.  I  am  aware  it  will  be  said,  that 
the  opinion  I  express  is  not  to  be  wondered  at :  that  I  am  a 
Presbyterian,  that  I  am  a  Genevese.  So  I  am.  Yet  it  is 
not  in  the  spirit  of  narrow  bigotry  that  I  speak.  I  love 
England,  and  I  am  not  prejudiced  against  episcopacy.  But 
I  have  studied  the  times  and  the  systems,  and  I  candidly 
state  the  result  of  my  examination.  Every  one  may  accept 
or  reject  it  as  he  thinks  proper.  I  do  not  presumptuously 
affirm  it,  but  appeal  with  modesty  to  the  judgment  of  the 
wise  in  the  church  and  in  the  nation. 


IV. 

CHURCH    AND    GOVERNMENT. 

I  NOW  come  to  the  doctrine  of  Scotland  upon  the  Head- 
ship of  the  church,  and  upon  the  the  church  itself.  This 
doctrine  appears  to  me  to  have  all  the  exactness  of  a  theo- 
rem. These  are  the  propositions  by  which  they  proceed ; 
they  are  the  foundation  of  the  whole  edifice  : 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  King  of  the  church  both 
visible  and  invisible.  "He  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the 
church."  (Col.  i.  18.) 

"  The  Lord  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father 
David:  and  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for- 
ever ;  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end."  (Luke 
i.  32,  33.) 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  King  of  the  particular 
churches,  comprehended  in  the  visible  church,  as  may  be 


156  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

seen  in  the  letters  which  he  writes  to  each  of  the  seven 
churches  of  Asia.     (Rev.  ii.  2.) 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Head  of  every  member  or 
minister  of  the  church.  "  The  head  of  every  man  is  Christ." 
(1  Cor.  xi.  3.) 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Head  of  every  Christian  as- 
sembly :  "  For  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in 
my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  (Matthew 
xviii.  20.) 

Christ  alone,  as  King,  creates  the  church  and  churches, 
and  alone  he  builds  them  up.  When  he  communicates  the 
Gospel  and  his  grace  to  a  town,  a  province,  or  a  country, 
the  instantaneous  effect  is,  that  within  this  town,  this  prov- 
ince or  this  country,  there  is  a  church  of  Christ :  this  is 
what  happened  at  Jerusalem,  at  Ephesus,  at  Rome,  and  at 
Geneva.  Churches  are  not,  cannot  be,  created  and  estab- 
lished by  civil  decrees  or  by  acts  of  parliament,  by  repub- 
lican legislatures,  or  by  concordats. 

Christ,  as  King,  bestows  on  the  church,  the  knowledge  and 
the  rules  which  she  needs,  and  in  the  Bible  alone  are  these 
to  be  found. 

The  laws  of  Christ,  the  King  of  the  church,  regulate  doc- 
trine, life,  worship,  discipline,  government ;  and  these  laws 
are  sufficient :  so  that  no  case  can  occur  in  which  the  church 
is  unable  to  decide  conformably  to  the  will  of  her  King,  or 
at  least  to  the  general  principles  laid  down  in  the  Bible. 

Christ,  the  King  of  the  church,  having  instituted  a  min- 
istry, the  government  of  the  church  belongs  exclusively  to 
the  elders  and  ministers  whom  He  has  set  over  her. 

The  authority  of  these  rulers  of  the  church  is  not  derived 
either  from  Episcopal  or  Presbyterian  succession,  or  by 
transmission  from  their  predecessors,  or  by  the  appointment 
by  the  state  ;  but  immediately  and  exclusively  from  Christ 
the  King. 

A  minister  must,  it  is  true,  receive  the  laying  on  of  hands 
from  those  set  apart  for  that  purpose,  (this  the  Word  of 


THE    SCOTTISH    QUESTION.  157 

God  commands) ;  but  the  minister  does  not  derive  his  au- 
thority from  that  company  of  elders.  When  a  judge  or  an 
officer  is  appointed  by  the  king,  it  is  necessary  that  the  ap- 
pointment or  the  commission  which  he  has  thus  received 
from  the  prince,  should  be  recognized  and  proclaimed  in 
the  court  of  justice,  or  in  the  staff  to  which  he  is  to  belong ; 
yet  it  is  neither  from  this  staff,  nor  from  this  court,  that  his 
authority  is  derived.  In  the  same  manner,  the  commission 
of  the  incorruptible  Prince,  the  appointment  and  the  calling 
of  the  King  of  kings,  is  the  only  source  of  the  authority  of 
the  holy  ministry. 

Christ  being  thus  the  King,  the  only  King  of  the  church, 
and  having  provided  every  thing  necessary  for 'her,  it  results 
therefrom  that  the  church  ought  to  be  "  subject  to  Christ," 
(Ephes.  v.  24.  ;)  and  to  Christ  alone. 

As  there  is  a  spiritual  government  established  by  the 
Lord  to  rule  over  the  church,  so  there  is  also  a  temporal 
government  established  by  the  Lord  to  rule  over  the  social 
and  political  interests  of  nations.  Each  of  these  govern- 
ments should  remain  within  its  own  sphere. 

The  political  government  can  have  no  claim  to  direct  in 
any  way  the  affairs  of  the  church ;  in  this  lies  the  essence 
of  the  question. 

It  cannot,  for  it  is  to  the  spiritual  government  alone  that 
Christ  has  delivered  the  power  of  the  keys.  (Matt.  xvi.  19. 
John,  xx.  23.) 

It  cannot,  for  it  is  on  the  spiritual  government  alone  that 
Christ  has  laid  all  the  responsibility  of  the  government  of 
the  church.  (Acts,  xx.  1Y — 28.  1  Peter,  v.  1 — 4.  Rev. 
ii.  14—20.) 

It  cannot,  for  it  is  to  the  spiritual  government  alone  that 
Christ  has  given  all  the  directions  necessary  for  the  admin- 
istration of  the  church.  (Matt.  xvi.  15 — 18.  Titus,  i.  5 — 9., 
iii.  10.  1.  Tim.  iii.) 

It  cannot,  for  it  is  to  the  spiritual  government  alone  that 


158  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

Christ  has  promised  all  the  grace  requisite'  to  perform  it. 
(Matt,  xxviii.  20.  2  Cor.  xi.  28.  Ephes.  iv.  7.  11,  12.) 

It  cannot,  for  it  is  to  the  spiritual  government  alone  that 
Christ  requires  the  members  of  the  church  to  be  subject 
as  to  the  affairs  of  the  church.  (1  Thes.  v.  12.  Heb.  xiii. 
7.  17.) 

It  cannot,  for  Christ  has  nowhere  enjoined  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church  obedience  to  the  civil  magistrate,  except 
as  to  civil  matters.  (Rom.  xiii.  1 — 7.  Luke,  xii.  13,  14.) 

It  cannot,  for  Christ  has  prescribed  the  qualifications  re- 
quired in  the  spiritual  rulers  of  the  church;  in  order  to 
govern  the  church ;  but  has  nowhere  prescribed  the  same  to 
the  civil  magistrates.  (1  Tim.  iii.  4 — 6.  Tit.  i.  5 — 11.) 

It  cannot,  for  Christ  has  declared  that  the  power  with 
which  the  civil  magistrate  is  armed,  is  the  power  of  the 
sword  (Rom.  xiii.  14.)  ;  and  this  is  a  species  of  power  which 
cannot,  without  persecution,  be  used  in  the  government  of 
the  church. 

Lastly,  it  cannot,  because  Christ  by  his  addressing  Pilate 
in  these  memorable  words,  "My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world"  (John,  xviii.  36.),  has  drawn  the  line  of  demarcation 
between  the  church  and  the  state  in  such  a  way  that  it  is 
well  established,  that  the  government  of  the  one  cannot  in- 
trude into  the  limits  of  the  other. 

It  results  from  all  this,  that  the  civil  magistrate  has  no 
right  whatsoever  to  rule  in  the  church  ;  that  not  only  he  has 
no  right  to  command  in  it  that  which  is  evil,  but  he  has  not 
even  the  right  to  command  in  it  that  which  is  good. 

This  is  the  system  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, — a  system 
wherein  each  of  its  propositions  is  supported  by  the  declara- 
tions of  the  Word  of  God. 


THE   SCOTTISH   QUESTION.  159 


V. 


IMPORTANCE    OF   THE    SYSTEM. 

THIS  system  was  a  necessity.  The  Papacy  of  Rome  being 
essentially  a  system  of  ecclesiastical  government,  and  that  a 
very  able  and  powerful  one,  displaying  all  the  wisdom  of 
darkness  ;  a  system  which  by  its  force,  its  consistency,  its 
coherence,  has  achieved,  and  is  even  now  achieving  great 
things  ;  it  was  necessary  for  the  Reformation  to  establish,  in 
opposition  to  the  government  of  Antichrist,  the  government 
of  Christ  himself.  If  the  Reformation  is  not  a  mere  denial 
of  Popery  ;  if,  on  the  contrary,  it  has  everywhere  established, 
in  opposition  to  the  errors  of  Rome,  positive  principles  and 
truths — salvation  by  grace,  in  opposition  to  salvation  by 
works — regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  opposition  to  the 
opus  operatum  of  the  sacraments,  and  so  on ;  in  like  manner, 
it  was  necessary  that  it  should  do  the  same  with  regard  to 
the  organization  of  the  church,  and  her  relations  with  the 
state.  It  is  the  glory  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  that  she 
has  been  intrusted  by  God  with  this  work,  and  admirably 
has  she  accomplished  it.  To  this  her  whole  history  bears 
witness.  It  is  in  Scotland  we  find  all  that  distinguishes  in 
the  most  striking  manner  the  Evangelical  from  the  Papal 
church. 

We  therefore  protest  against  the  insinuations  and  the  ac- 
cusations to  which  Scotland  has  been  more  than  once  sub- 
jected, from  the  wise  men  of.this  world,  even  on  the  Conti- 
nent. No ;  the  great  principles  maintained  by  this  church 
are  not  those  of  a  narrow  Puritanism,  a  political  agitation,  a 
desire  of  subjecting  the  state  to  the  church,  or  the  intrigues 
of  an  ambitious  clergy.  Scotland  has  received  a  vocation 
from  God,  and  this  vocation  she  is  fulfilling.  The  principles 
she  maintains  rest  upon  the  most  venerable  statutes,  the 
most  ancient  laws  of  this  nation ;  nay,  upon  the  Word  of 


160  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

God  itself.  These  principles  are  the  right,  the  strength,  the 
glory  of  Scotland.  They  pervade  her  whole  history,  the 
struggles  of  her  fathers,  the  constitutions  of  her  people,  the 
scaffolds  of  her  martyrs,  her  revolutions,  her  restorations,  and 
all  the  great  events  in  which  her  annals  abound.  They  run 
through  them  like  a  reviving  stream,  whose  waters  carry  in 
all  directions  fertility  and  life.  "  This  controversy,"  says 
Gillespie,  "  rises  to  the  heavens,  and  its  summit  is  above  the 
clouds." 

Now,  the  English  government  having  determined  to  inter- 
fere in  the  spiritual  matters  of  the  church,  as  we  shall  see,  by 
means  of  the  courts  of  law  and  the  parliament ;  the  Evan- 
gelical party  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  by  virtue  of  the 
very  principles  we  have  just  laid  down,  has  severed  the 
bonds  which  unite  the  church  to  the  state,  and  declared  her 
independence. 

It  is  now  necessary  to  specify,  in  a  more  precise  manner, 
the  points  which  have  brought  about  the  rupture.  In  fact,  it 
is  not,  properly  speaking,  the  abstract  doctrine  of  the  king- 
ship of  Christ,  but  upon  the  application  of  that  doctrine,  that 
the  difference  turns.  These  are  the  two  points  which  have 
been  debated,  and  resolved  in  opposite  ways. 

The  first  point  was  that  of  non-intrusion.  You  are  aware 
that  by  intrusion  is  understood  the  act  of  introducing  a  pre- 
sentee by  force  or  by  stratagem,  against  right  and  form,  into 
any  cure  of  the  church.  By  non-intrusion  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland  understands  the  right  of  a  church,  or  of  a  par- 
ish, to  refuse  the  minister  presented  to  it,  so  that  he  may  not 
be  imposed  upon  them  against  ^heir  consent,  even  when  the 
higher  ecclesiastical  authorities  do  not  concur  in  their  objec- 
tions. This  is  an  important  point  in  the  ecclesiastical  consti- 
tution of  Scotland  ;  yet  it  is  not  the  one  of  which  the  Free 
Church  has  been  the  most  tenacious.  They  might  even  have 
come  to  some  compromise  on  this  head  ;  but  the  next  prin- 
ciple is,  in  their  eyes,  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  it  is  im- 
possible on  that  subject  to  yield  in  the  slightest  degree. 


THE    SCOTTISH    QUESTION.  161 

This  latter  principle  is,  that  of  Spiritual  Independence ; 
that  is  to  say,  independence  in  all  the  spiritual  concerns  of 
the  church,  subject  to  Christ  and  his  Word  alone  ;  and  most 
particularly,  the  right  which  the  church  alone  has  of  induct- 
ing and  depriving  her  own  ministers,  without  any  civil  court, 
any  political  authority,  even  the  highest,  having  any  claim 
to  command  in  these  respects.  Herein  lies  the  knot  of  the 
matter. 

The  real  and  exclusive  kingship  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  virtue 
of  which  the  church  is  independent  of  any  earthly  king  or 
magistrate,  is  the  theorem,  the  Palladium,  as  it  were,  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland. 

The  non-intrusion  of  ministers,  and  the  spiritual  independ- 
ence of  the  church,  are  the  two  corollaries  of  that  theorem, 
for  the  sake  of  which  the  Scottish  Church  has  in  our  own 
day  fought  so  memorable  a  battle. 

The  first  of  these  principles,  non-intrusion  of  ministers,  as 
the  Free  Church  understands  it,  is  not,  perhaps,  a  strict  con- 
sequence of  the  sole  kingship  of  Christ.  This  non-intrusion 
is  founded,  doubtless,  upon  the  rights  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, both  in  the  letter  and  the  spirit ;  but  if  the  refusal  of  a 
parish  to  receive  any  minister  is  to  be  submitted,  not  to  a  civil 
court,  but  to  an  ecclesiastical  assembly,  to  a  presbytery,  for 
instance,  or  to  a  synod,  the  kingship  of  Christ,  as  the  Church 
of  Scotland  understands  it,  is  in  no  way  affected.  There- 
fore, if  it  were  only  for  the  sake  of  non-intrusion  that  the 
separation  took  place,  we  might  understand  how  opinions 
might  be  divided.  It  has  been  said  in  Switzerland,  that  the 
Scottish  disruption  was  effected,  not  for  the  sake  of  the 
headship  of  Christ,  but  for  that  of  the  people.  This  shows 
a  complete  ignorance  of  facts. 

The  essential  cause  of  the  disruption  was  the  duty  of 
maintaining  the  spiritual  independence  of  the  church,  of 
preventing  the  civil  power  from  deciding  in  religious  mat- 
ters ;  and  that  duty  is  one  which  most  incontrovertibly  flows 
from  the  constitution  of  that  church,  and  from  the  tenet  of 


162  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

the  kingship  of  Christ,  which  she  has  been  commissioned 
from  God  to  declare  openly  in  the  church.  The  Church  of 
Scotland  cannot  yield  this  point  without  proving  unfaithful 
to  her  calling,  without  sacrificing  the  very  principle  of  her 
existence. 


VI. 

A    COMPARISON. 

HAVING  been  called  upon  to  make  you  acquainted  with 
the  system  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  it  will  be  advanta- 
geous to  compare  it  with  the  system  well  known  among  our- 
selves,— that  of  the  separation  of  church  and  state. 

These  two  systems  have  one  great  point  of  resemblance  ; 
that  is,  they  both  aim  at  the  independence  of  the  church. 
Yet  if  we  examine  the  matter  more  closely,  we  shall  find 
between  them  some  remarkable  differences  which  it  is  worth 
while  to  point  out. 

The  Scottish  system  is  complete.  It  lays  down  princi- 
ples, and  deduces  consequences  ;  it  is,  in  fact,  an  entire  ec- 
clesiastical system.  The  theory  of  the  separation  of  church 
and  state  (which  is  a  different  thing  from  Voluntaryism), 
cannot  be  called  a  system ;  it  is  defective  as  to  the  first 
principles  of  church  government,  and,  in  fact,  does  not  pre- 
tend to  define  them.  It  is  a  certain  number  of  consider- 
ations, some  metaphysical,  some  historical,  or  of  some  other 
nature  besides,  which  may  be  powerful,  but  which  do  not 
form  a  perfect  whole  like  the  Scottish  system. 

The  latter  system  is  essentially  positive,  while  that  of  the 
separation  of  church  and  state  stands  forth  as  being  essen- 
tially negative,  and  consequently  less  powerful ;  I  will  even 
add,  less  pious  and  less  Christian.  The  positive  question  is 
of  more  importance  than  the  negative ;  although,  in  our 
opinion  at  least,  one  includes  the  other. 

The  first  thing  is,  that  the  church  should  attach  itself  to 


THE    SCOTTISH    QUESTION.  163 

Jesus  Christ,  and  fully  recognize  his  sovereign  kingship. 
This  is  the  positive.  The  next  thing  would  be,  that  the 
church  should  maintain  her  own  independence  with  respect 
to  earthly  governments,  and  detach  herself  from  them  in  all 
spiritual  concerns.  But  what  would  be  gained  if  the  church 
were. detached  from  the  state,  without  the  kingship  of  Jesus 
Christ  being  recognized  in  the  church  ?  What  would  hap- 
pen to  a  church  which  has  neither  a  head  upon  earth,  nor  a 
head  in  heaven  ?  Doubtless, — and  we  may  thank  God  for 
this, — a  great  number  of  those  who  maintain  the  principles 
of  separation  are  Christians,  and  it  is  this  which  counteracts 
the  evils.  But  there  are  also  some,  and  these  too  very  em- 
inent men,  especially  in  England,  who  are  Unitarians  and 
Deists ;  and  in  that  case,  what  is  to  become  of  a  church 
with  the  mere  idea  of  separation  ?  She  would  end  by 
making  herself  both  head  and  God ! 

The  Church  of  Scotland  is  not,  above  all  things,  sepa- 
ratist :  she  is  unionist  in  the  most  spiritual  and  sublime 
sense.  Her  great  aim  is,  for  the  church  to  unite  herself  to 
her  divine  Head,  Jesus  Christ.  She  demands  that  this  King 
should  reign,  not  only  in  the  hearts  of  humble  believers,  or 
of  ministers,  but  also  in  the  hearts  of  kings,  and  of  all  who 
are  placed  in  power.  She  makes  no  separation  between  the 
kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  rulerS  of  the  nations. 

And  such  is  also  my  own  feeling.  God  forbid  that  I 
should  stand  before  any  man  whatsoever,  whether  he  speaks 
in  our  own  Diets,  or  sits  on  the  throne  of  St.  James,  or  on 
that  of  the  Tuileries,  without  proclaiming,  "  Worship  the 
Son  and  submit  to  his  Word  !"  But  I  do  not  stop  there,  as 
I  shall  proceed  to  show. 

I  have  to  make  a  third  observation.  In  the  ordinary  sys- 
tem of  separation  between  church  and  state,  it  is  exclusively, 
in  my  opinion,  a  question  of  discipline,  or  of  ecclesiastical 
constitution  founded  on  reasoning,  with  which  we  have  to 
deal.  But,  in  the  system  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  we 
are  concerned  with  a  doctrinal  question  based  upon  the 


164  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

Word  of  God  ;  not  with  a  merely  secondary  doctrine,  but  a 
leading  dogma,  acknowledged  as  such  by  all.  In  effect,  the 
Mediator,  Jesus  Christ,  fills  three  offices  in  the  church, — he 
is  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  ;  this  we  have  all  learnt  in  our 
Catechism,  and,  what  is  still  better,  in  our  Bible.  Christi- 
anity is  comprised  in  these  three  points ;  and  whenever  we 
deprive  Christ  in  any  manner  of  one  of  these  offices,  we  re- 
ject the  Lord  of  Glory,  or  tread  him  under  foot,  and  Christi- 
anity is  shorn  of  its  proportions,  or,  in  other  words,  destroyed. 
Now  these  offices  of  the  Mediator  have  always  been  attacked 
in  diverse  ways. 

Whenever,  instead  of  the  teaching  of  his  Word  and  of  his 
Holy  Spirit,  we  substitute  that  of  human  reason,  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  Church,  or  of  the  Popes,  Christ  is  denied  as  a 
Prophet.  Whenever,  for  the  sacrifice  of  his  body  and  blood, 
by  which  he  has  once  redeemed  his  people,  we  substitute 
certain  penances,  the  mass,  or  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
works  or  by  good  intentions,  Christ  is  denied  as  a  Priest. 

Think  you,  then,  that  it  is  not  possible  to  acknowledge  or 
deny  Christ  as  a  King? 

It  Is  this  denial  of  Christ  as  a  King  which  is  renounced 
by  the  Church  of  Scotland.  With  her,  Christ  is  the  King 
of  the  ehurch,  as  well  as  her  Prophet  or  her  Priest ;  this  is 
all.  But,  it  is  to  be  observed,  he  is  not  the  King  merely  of 
an  invisible  impalpable  church,  which  is  nowhere  to  be  found. 
When  Christ  founded  the  church,  he  did  so  indeed  in  the 
first  instance  as  spiritual  and  invisible ;  but  immediately 
afterwards  as  visible  and  external,  for  he  introduced  the 
sacraments.  Now,  are  not  the  sacraments  visible  ?  He 
established  the  ministry,  and  are  not  the  ministers  visible? 
The  visible  cannot  be  separated  from  the  invisible  church ;  it 
is  one  and  the  same  church,  and  it  is  of  the  church  in  both 
these  relations  that  Christ  is  the  King. 

For  our  own  part,  we  worship  the  kingship  of  Christ  as  we 
worship  his  prophetical  and  his  priestly  character.  We  be- 
lieve that  this  sacred,  too  much  forgotten  kingship,  ought  to 


THE   SCOTTISH   QUESTION.  165 

be  reinstated  in  the  church ;  and  we  think  that  Scotland  has 
received  from  God  a  call  to  this  effect. 

But  in  so  doing,  there  is  an  excess  which  we  must  point 
out.  To  make  all  the  institutions  of  the  visible  church  flow 
directly  from  the  kingship  of  Christ ;  to  believe  that  Presby- 
terianism,  with  all  its  forms,  is  alone  of  divine  institution,  is, 
in  my  opinion,  to  fall  into  a  dangerous  error.  Revelation 
was  given  to  us  for  the  purpose  of  proclaiming  the  great 
truths  of  salvation,  and  of  imparting  a  new  life.  To  convert 
Revelation  into  an  ecclesiastical  rule  is  to  lower  it  considera- 
bly. It  is  to  forget  the  essential  nature  of  Christianity,  and 
make  of  it  a  mere  system  more  or  less  similar  to  Judaism, 
which  consisted  in  ordinances.*  (Ephes.  ii.  15.)  No;  Christ 
"  hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition :"  let  us 
beware  of  rebuilding  it.  I  prefer  the  Presbyterian  govern- 
ment to  all  others,  I  even  think  it  most  comformable  to  the 
Bible ;  but  I  will  never  consent  to  condemn  the  Episcopalians 
as  Episcopalians,  nor  the  Congregationalists  as  Congrega- 
tionalists.  Let  us  entirely  abandon  bigotry,  of  what  nature 
and  species  soever.  The  apostle  St.  John  does  not  say,  "  If 
any  bring  not  this  church  government,  receive  him  not ;"  but 
he  says,  "  If  any  bring  not  this  doctrine."  Most  Scotchmen 
think  as  I  do :  of  this  I  am  assured.  The  farther  Scotland 
removes  a  sectarian  spirit  from  her,  the  more  also  will  she 
become  fair,  strong,  useful,  and  pleasing,  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  of  the  people  of  God.  Let  us  be  enthusiastic  in 
the  cause  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  is  worth  it  all ;  but  not  for  the 
sake  of  our  own  sect  and  our  own  constitution. 

I  have  to  make  a  fourth  remark.  The  Scottish  system  is 
more  powerful ;  it  draws  on  the  people  of  God  with  greater 
force.  In  fact,  considerations  more  or  less  metaphysical  are 
not  within  the  reach  of  every  body,  and  do  not  convince  them. 
Take  one  of  the  finest  productions  of  the  human  mind  of  late 
years,  the  work  upon  "  The  Manifestation  of  Religious  Con- 
victions ;"f  and,  even  among  those  who  have  understood  it, 
*  NO/JOV  TWX  tvro\uv.  *  By  the  late  Dr.  Vinot. 


166  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

there  are  a  great  many  unconvinced  by  it.  But  put  the  ques- 
tion as  it  is  put  in  Scotland  : — "  Will  you  in  things  spiritual 
give  all  obedience  to  Jesus  Christ  your  King  ;  or  will  you 
give  a  part  of  it  to  the  President  of  the  Council  of  State,  or  to 
the  Right  Honorable  the  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury  ?"  This 
is  the  question,  and  there  is  no  Christian  conscience  that  can 
hesitate.  It  has  been  seen  that  during  two  centuries  this 
simple  question  induced  the  meanest  among  the  people  of 
God  in  Scotland  to  ascend  the  scaffold.  A  man  will  lay 
down  his  own  life  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  but  he  will  not  lay 
it  down  so  easily  for  a  mere  argument.  This  system  has  very 
lately  bestowed  freedom  upon  two  churches, — those  of  Scot- 
land and  of  Vaud.  I  know  of  no  similar  effect  produced  by 
the  separationist  system. 

I  remember  the  powerful  sensation  which,  at  a  Christian 
Union  meeting  at  Edinburgh,  Dr.  Candlish  produced  by  a 
speech  which  I  have  unfortunately  been  unable  to  find  very 
correctly  reported.  "  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  in  a  nation 
there  are  many  conflicting  opinions,  many  different  parties, 
and  these  factions  are  ranged  against  each  other  in  the  par- 
liament and  among  the  people  ;  but  if  the  King — if  his  crown 
be  attacked  by  a  foreign  power,  all  divisions  cease,  all  fac- 
tions are  silent,  all  hands  are  stretched  out  to  preserve  the 
crown  and  maintain  its  independence.  Thus,"  added  the 
orator,  "  thus  it  is  with  the  church.  There  are  many  differ- 
ent opinions,  sects,  and  parties ;  but  if  a  foreign  power 
touches  the  honor  of  our  Divine  King, — all  divisions  cease, 
all  sects  unite,  all  hearts  join  in  one,  and  all  hands  are  raised 
together  to  support  His  crown." 

I  can  only  compare  the  energy  of  the  speaker  to  the 
tumult  of  applause  with  which  these  words  were  received. 

-  Let  us  now  observe  a  last  difference  in  the  degree  of  sepa- 
ration which  the  two  theories  assert  between  church  and 
state.  If  the  state  is  opposed  to  the  church,  then,  according 
to  both  systems,  the  separation  should  be  complete ;  but  if 
the  rulers  of  the  state  are  animated  by  Christian  feelings, 


THE    SCOTTISH    QUESTION.  167 

and  remain  within  their  own  sphere,  in  that  case  the  separa- 
tion will  still  exist  as  to  all  things  spiritual,  though  it  will  be 
wanting  in  the  Scottish  system,  in  an  external  and  temporal 
point  of  view.  Is  the  Scottish  system  right  ?  This  brings 
me  back  to  Scotland  and  her  history. 


VII. 

A    REQUISITE    OF   UNION. 

THERE  is  no  history  in  which  the  incessant  struggle  be- 
tween the  church  and  the  state  is  so  strongly  marked  as  in 
that  of  Scotland.  The  powerful  vitality  of  the  church  is 
the  cause  of  this.  A  church  might  exist,  as  for  instance,  in 
the  canton  of  Vaud,  where  the  church  lay  for  three  centu- 
ries bound  by  the  state  without  a  struggle,  at  least  without 
any  considerable  one,  for  the  very  simple  reason  that  there 
was  but  little  life  within  her.  A  living  body  may  well  hold 
down  a  corpse  and  find  no  resistance  ;  but  when  once  the 
corpse  is  restored  to  life,  the  struggle  will  begin  anew. 

The  state  everywhere  would  be  the  master ;  it  would  be 
so  in  the  different  phases  of  the  life  of  nations,  whether  in 
matters  of  industry,  of  instruction,  or  of  war  ;  but  it  would 
be  so  especially  in  matters  of  religion,  because  religion  has 
great  influence  over  the  people.  Now,  this  is  precisely  the 
sphere  which  is  to  be  withheld  from  the  grasp  of  the  state. 
"The  power  of  the  state  ends  where  that  of  conscience 
begins." 

The  history  of  Scotland  is  that  of  the  struggle  between 
the  state  and  the  church.  Scarcely  does  the  church  come 
into  existence,  when  the  state  begins  to  make  war  upon  her. 
Combats  to  the  death,  or  else  deep  slumber, — behold,  in  two 
words,  the  history  of  the  Scottish  Church.  One  of  these 
phases  succeeds  the  other,  and  the  slumber  is  no  sooner 
broken  than  the  combat  is  renewed. 

It  is  to  this  duel,  continued  for  three  centuries,  that  we 


168  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

wish  to  recall  your  attention.  But  you  must  observe,  that 
while  the  church  stands  alone  in  the  conflict — alone  with 
her  Divine  Head — the  state  in  Scotland  has  always  an  aux- 
iliary. 

That  auxiliary  changes  at  different  periods  of  the  struggle. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  the  auxiliary  of  the  state  against 
the  Church  of  Scotland  was  Popery. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  it  was  Prelacy  (not  evangeli- 
cal episcopacy,  but  the  half-popish  prelacy  of  Laud). 

In  the  eighteenth  century,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth,  it  was  Patronage  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  right  of 
the  landlords,  of  the  crown,  or  of  the  councils,  to  appoint 
the  ministers  of  the  churches. 

Hence  proceeded  : — 

During  the  sixteenth  century,  a  struggle  hateful  and  per- 
fidious ; 

During  the  seventeenth  century,  a  struggle  violent  and 
cruel ; 

During  the  eighteenth  century,  a  struggle  enervating  and 
deadening. 

And  observe,  that  the  state,  vanquished  each  time  by  the 
church  in  her  unjust  aggressions,  and  obliged  to  sacrifice  her 
auxiliary,  has  always  taken  another  less  odious  in  its  stead. 

The  prelacy  of  the  seventeenth  century  is  better  than  the 
popery  of  the  sixteenth;  and  the  patronage  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  is  better  than  the  prelacy  of  the  seventeenth. 

It  may  be  thought  that  the  conflict  between  the  state  and 
the  church  is  ended  in  Scotland.  The  church  has  found  the 
true  way  of  enjoying  at  once  liberty  and  peace.  She  has 
restored  to  the  state  the  property  and  the  privileges  she  had 
received  from  it,  and  has  wrapped  herself  in  the  mantle  of 
poverty. 

Were  this  struggle  to  be  renewed,  the  state  would  apply 
to  another  auxiliary — an  auxiliary  better  than  patronage ; 
that  is,  the  establishment  of  moderatism. 

The  only  chance  for  the  renewal  of  the  conflict  in  Scot- 


THE    SCOTTISH    QUESTION.  169 

land  would  be,  that  the  Established  Church  should  gather 
up  the  remains  of  life  and  independence.  It  is  probable, 
that  with  the  Free  Church  before  them,  the  State  and  the 
Establishment  will  long  remain  agreed.  But  if  there  should 
be  in  the  Establishment,  as  I  trust  there  will,  a  return  to  the 
first  principles  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  the  struggle 
would,  doubtless,  terminate  in  a  new  disruption,  which 
might,  perhaps,  unite  into  one  church  all  the  congregations 
of  North  Britain. 

I  intend  to  take  a  rapid  survey  of  the  three  great  periods 
of  the  conflict  between  the  church  and  the  state  in  Scot- 
land : — 

1.  The  period  of  Anti-popery,  from  the  commencement  of 
the  church  till  the  year  1600. 

2.  The  period  of  Anti-prelacy,  from  1600  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eighteenth  century. 

3.  The  period  of  Anti-patronage,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth  century  to  1843. 

But  for  the  present,  with  these  facts  before  our  eyes,  I  re- 
turn to  the  question  I  first  stated. 

Is  not  the  Church  of  Scotland  mistaken  in  thinking  that 
there  may  be  a  certain  combination  between  the  church  and 
the  state  ? 

I  answer,  that,  in  the  abstract,  and  in  principle,  she  is  not. 
The  obedience  which  the  Christian  owes  to  Jesus  Christ,  as 
the  only  King  of  the  church,  is  opposed  to  the  Christian's 
recognizing  any  jurisdiction  of  the  state  in  spiritual  matters  ; 
but  it  does  not  prevent  the  state  from  .uniting  with  the  church 
in  certain  external  and  temporal  relations.  Conscience  for- 
bids our  rendering  to  the  state  what  belongs  only  to  the 
Lord,  but  it  forbids  no  more.  The  American  Church,  though 
quite  independent  of  the  state,  still  maintains  some  relations 
with  it.  The  state,  for  instance,  proclaims  a  fast-day,  and 
the  church  observes  it. 

But  with  regard  to  expediency  and  to  possibility,  that  is 
another  matter.  I  do  not  think  that  such  relations  can  be- 

8 


170  TRAVELLING  RECOLLECTIONS. 

come  intimate  or  influential  without  danger.  A  salary,  for 
instance,  paid  by  the  state  to  the  church,  besides  having 
other  inconveniences,  gives  the  state  a  hold  upon  the  church, 
and  compromises  the  latter. 

A  church  jealous  of  maintaining  the  prerogative  of  the 
Lord,  and  which  would  withstand  the  state  as  soon  as  it 
made  the  least  encroachment  upon  her,  must  always  be  in 
opposition,  and  in  conflict  with  the  state.  Of  this  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church  of  Scotland  is  a  proof. 

Should  it,  then,  be  the  aim  of  these  two  great  associations, 
the  state  and  the  church,  to  hate  and  wage  incessant  war 
upon  each  other  ?  Are  these  two  powers,  which  both  pro- 
ceed from  God,  which  are  both  placed  by  him  above  the 
nations,  to  diffuse  inestimable  benefits  among  them,  set  up 
merely  as  two  champions,  two  gladiators,  to  fence  incessantly 
together,  and  aim  at  each  other's  lives  ? 

I  am  too  desirous  of  a  real  and  cordial  union  between  the 
civil  and  the  religious  body,  not  to  wish  those  ties  to  be  sev- 
ered, those  complications  unravelled,  which,  hitherto,  have 
never  ceased  to  make  them  rivals  and  enemies.  In  my  opin- 
ion, the  greatest  argument  against  such  union  is  its  impossi- 
bility,— its  incompatibility  with  the  peace,  the  liberty,  the 
vitality,  and  the  prosperity  both  of  the  state  and  of  the 
church. 

I  ask  not,  therefore,  the  suppression  of  a  union,  but  of  a 
discord.  I  am  tenacious  of  establishing  this  fact 

O 

It  is  no  question  now,  of  a  discord  which  existed  in  past 
ages,  in  the  times  of  Henry  of  Germany,  of  Gregory  VII., 
of  Philip  Augustus,  of  Boniface  VIII.,  of  Frederick  Barba- 
rossa,  of  Gregory  IX.,  or  of  Innocent  III.  No ;  our  business 
is  with  a  deplorable  discord  and  struggle  which  exists  in  our 
own  day,  which  is  vigorously  recommencing  in  France  (see  the 
late  "pastoral  letters,"  for  example),  in  Germany,  in  England, 
and  even  in  our  own  Switzerland,  once  deluged  in  blood  by 
the  questions  of  the  convents  and  the  Jesuits,  and  destined, 
perhaps,  to  be  so  again.  I  say  nothing  of  the  Canton  de 


THE    SCOTTISH   QUESTION.  171 

Vaud ;  of  the  struggle  even  now  sustained  there  by  a  few 
noble  witnesses  for  the  kingship  of  Jesus  Christ ;  of  the  con- 
flict in  which  the  power  of  faith  is  opposed  by  the  power  of 
the  bluQgeon ;  of  that  battle  which  is  going  on  at  our  own 
doors,  which  is  felt  even  in  our  own  homes,  and  which  speaks 
with  a  voice  from  which  some  useful  lesson  might  surely  be 
learnt. 

<  Yes  ;  I  accuse  those  governmental  systems  which  would, 
at  any  price,  keep  up  these  complications,  these  invasions, 
these  subjections.  I  accuse  them  as  enemies  of  a  cordial  and 
healthful  union  between  the  church  and  the  state.  I  accuse 
them  of  being  the  instigators  of  troubles  and  conflicts  be- 
tween the  two  bodies.  I  accuse  them  as  being  calculated  to 
perpetuate  among  the  nations  the  causes  of  their  desolation 
and  their  ruin ;  and  it  is  in  the  name  of  this  very  principle 
of  union  which  they  assert,  while  they  pervert  its  nature, 
that  I  condemn  them. 

May  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  maintain  that  ancient 
and  grand  principle,  by  virtue  of  which  the  kindly  influence 
of  Christianity  is  to  penetrate  not  only  into  individuals,  but 
into  families  ;  not  only  into  families,  but  into  the  most  ex- 
tensive societies,  and  most  especially  into  the  great  body  of 
the  nation.  May  the  Church  of  Scotland  maintain,  that 
there  is  upon  earth,  neither  individual  nor  society  in  behalf 
of  which  she  is  now  to  offer  up  this  prayer,  "  Thy  kingdom 
come."  May  she  reject  with  alarm,  as  we  ourselves  do,  the 
saying  of  a  celebrated  French  Roman  Catholic  politician ; 
"  The  state  is  Atheist,"  (a  saying  which,  I  am  aware,  has 
been  explained,  but  which  nevertheless  has  been  perniciously 
invented.)  May  the  Church  of  Scotland  never  cease  to  re- 
peat before  the  whole  world,  that  she  will  not  have  a  state 
without  God;  but  let  her  at  the  same  time  acknowledge 
with  thankfulness  what  God  has  done  for  her,  and  glory  in 
her  perfect  freedom. 

I  conclude  by  observing  that,  while  the  Scottish  system 
builds  its  theories  upon  a  solid  scriptural  basis,  a  powerful 


172  TRAVELLING    RECOLLECTIONS. 

principle,  which  is  too  much  neglected  by  separatism ;  the 
latter  develops  the  Scottish  system  in  a  very  important  ap- 
plication. They  are,  or  at  least  ought  to  be,  two  friendly 
systems,  each  the  compliment  of  the  other. 

Allow  me,  in  conclusion,  to  make  a  strange  supposition. 
Should  a  madman,  in  order  to  establish  a  greater  union  in  our 
solar  system,  propose  connecting  the  earth,  the  moon,  and 
the  sun  together  by  some  monstrous  chain,  what,  I  ask, 
would  be  the  result ;  but  that  such  a  bond  would  prevent 
the  free  motion  of  these  bodies,  would  draw  our  system  into 
unheard  of  disorder,  and  plunge  us  into  a  fearful  cataclysm, 
into  the  darkness  and  desolation  of  chaos  ? 

Far  better  is  that  liberty  which  God  has  given  them, — a 
liberty  which  allows  of  the  free  circulation  of  light,  heat, 
and  life !  Not  only  in  Scotland,  therefore,  but  throughout 
the  world,  may  the  church  become  free,  and  avail  herself 
betimes  of  the  advantages  of  that  freedom  to  cause  all  na- 
tions, and  consequently  all  states,  to  rejoice  in  the  light  of 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness ! 


PART   II, 

HISTORICAL  RECOLLECTIONS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES. 

Sixteenth  Century. — Popery, 

1.  Travellers.  History  and  its  Lessons.  Two  Men  at  Geneva.  The 
Vocation  of  Scotland.  Return  of  Knox.  St.  Andrews.  Triumph 
of  the  Reformation.  The  Church  Free. — 2.  First  Book  of  Discipline. 
Election  of  Pastors.  Mary  Stuart.  Opposition.  League  of  Bayonne. 
The  Holyrood  Murder. — 3.  The  Church  established.  Spiritual  Inde- 
pendence of  the  Church.  Death  of  the  Good  Regent.  Tulchan 
Bishops.  Sayings  of  Erskine  of  Dun. — 4.  The  Book  of  Policy. 
James,  Lennox,  and  Arran.  Archbishop  Montgomery.  Act  against 
Civil  Admission.  Protest  of  the  Assembly.  Melville  before  the  King. 
James  yields. — 5.  The  Black  Acts.  Protest.  Protestant  Reaction. 
Presbyterian  Speech  of  the  King.  Ecclesiastical  Charter  of  1592. — 
6.  New  Reaction.  Deputation  to  the  King.  Andrew  Melville.  Dan- 
gers. Strength  and  Courage. 

I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

LAST  year  I  related  some  passages  of  my  travels  in  Ger- 
many, England,  and  Scotland.  I  have  been  asked  whether 
I  have  nothing  more  to  tell ;  whether  my  store  is  exhausted. 
I  have  found  yet  a  few  fragments  which  I  have  brought  to- 
gether, and  now  proceed  to  lay  them  before  you. 


174  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

To  explain  the  nature  of  these  fragments,  I  must  confess 
to  a  foible  of  my  own. 

A  number  of  travellers  journey  through  the  same  country, 
and  yet  each  one  sees  different  things.  The  artist  brings 
home  his  portfolio  full  of  sketches  of  rustic  cottages,  bub- 
ling  cascades,  delightful  views  of  lakes,  smiling  valleys,  and 
proud  mountain  tops.  The  architect  does  not  leave  unno- 
ticed one  Gothic  church,  one  elegant  mansion,  or  even  a 
single  colonnade  or  capital.  The  statesman  studies  the  in- 
stitutions, the  senates,  the  prerogative,  the  working  and  the 
balance  of  power.  The  pedagogue  visits  every  school,  con- 
verses with  every  schoolmaster,  inquires  into  their  methods, 
and  the  results  they  produce  ;  and  so  on. 

As  for  me,  I  delight  in  going  back  into  past  ages,  and,  as 
I  contemplate  what  I  meet  with  in  the  places  I  visit,  to  seek 
out  what  happened  there  in  times  gone  by.  I  inquire  into 
the  historical  reminiscences.  I  cannot  look  upon  a  field  of 
battle  without  marshalling  armies  upon  it ;  on  an  ancient 
house,  without  bringing  back  its  inhabitants  ;  on  a  church, 
without  placing  in  the  pulpit  the  illustrious  man  who  has 
preached  there,  and  in  the  nave,  the  audience  he  was  wont  to 
animate  with  his  words.  I  cannot  pass  through  a  cemetery 
without  calling  up  its  dead. 

In  consequence  of  this,  the  fragments  I  shall  now  lay  be- 
fore you  are  historical.  As  I  travelled  through  Scotland,  for 
to  this  country  I  confine  myself  for  the  present,  I  re-peopled 
it  with  its  former  inhabitants.  Therefore,  after  having  told 
you  of  my  friends  of  the  present  day,  I  have  only  to  speak 
of  my  friends  of  one,  two,  and  three  centuries  ago. 

The  contemporary  history  of  a  people  is  contained  in 
the  history  of  its  early  times.  The  present  lies  everywhere 
within  the  past,  as  the  ear  within  the  grain  of  wheat,  and  the 
bird  within  the  egg.  Therefore,  in  thus  carrying  you  with 
me  over  the  fair  country  of  Scotland,  I  intend,  indeed,  like  a 
necromancer,  to  call  up  the  spirits  of  the  departed ;  yet  I 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  175 

am  performing  an  actual  work,  and  explaining  the  obscurities 
of  the  present  by  the  lights  of  the  past. 

Every  one  acknowledges  the  utility  of  historical  lessons ; 
yet  we  must  make  a  selection  from  them,  since  there  are 
some  which  are  suited  to  one  time,  though  not  to  another. 
If  there  is  one  feature  especially  characteristic  of  our  own 
age,  it  is  the  studies  of  thinking  men  upon  the  relations 
which  should  exist  between  those  two  great  societies,  the 
political  and  the  religious.  If  there  is  one  appeal  now  spe- 
cially addressed  to  the  Christian  man,  amidst  all  these  con- 
flicts, all  these  falls,  and  all  these  transformations  of  power, 
it  is,  doubtless,  the  call  to  remain  immovably  faithful  to  the 
Invisible  and  Immortal  King.  If  the  kingdoms  and  the 
republics  of  this  world  are  shaking  and  falling,  so  that  fearful 
men  are  ready  to  flee  lest  they  should  be  crushed  among 
their  ruins  ;  the  Scripture  declares  that  there  is  one  state,  one 
"  kingdom  that  cannot  be  moved,"  and  in  which  the  exiles 
must  take  refuge.*  Now,  if  there  is  any  history  fertile  in 
lessons  on  this  important  subject,  on  the  steadfastness,  the 
vitality  of  the  church,  it  is  that  of  Scotland  since  the  Refor- 
mation. I  have  torn  from  the  book  of  ages,  the  leaf  on 
which  was  inscribed  those  ancient  times  so  pregnant  in  les- 
sons for  our  own  ;  and  this  is,  perhaps,  the  most  important 
of  the  remembrances  I  have  preserved  of  my  journey.  Allow 
me  to  exhibit  it ;  to  read  to  you  this  page  so  full  of  struggles 
and  of  sufferings,  yet  of  triumph  and  of  faith  also. 

Nearly  three  centuries  ago,  in  the  old  streets  of  our  old 
city,  in  the  Rue  des  Chanoines,  in  the  Bourg  de  Four,  upon 
this  very  hill  where  we  are  now  met,  and  near  these  three 
towers  of  St.  Peter  which  rise  steeple-less  beside  us,  two 
men  might  have  been  seen  walking  together, — men  of  se- 
rious and  venerable  demeanor,  with  deep  and  piercing  glance, 
— men  of  conflict  and  of  prayer.  One  of  these  was  John 
Calvin,  the  other  John  Knox.  The  latter  had  been,  for  two 

*  This  was  spoken  shortly  after  the  revolution  of  Geneva,  in  October, 
1846. 


176  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

years,  the  pastor  of  those  English  and  Scotch  whom  per- 
secution had  driven  to  seek  refuge  in  our  hospitable  city. 
He  came  in  1556,  with  his  wife  and  her  mother,  then  a 
widow,  and  there  two  sons  were  born  to  him.  In  the  con- 
versations they  held  together,  the  doctor  of  Geneva  and  the 
doctor  of  Scotland  mutually  enlightened  each  other ;  ex- 
amined the  Bible  to  discover  the  condition  of  the  ancient 
church ;  grieved  that  the  ecclesiastical  government  of  the 
early  times  had  been  entirely  subverted  by  the  tyranny  of 
the  Papacy  ;  re-established  the  chief  heads  of  that  Pres- 
byterian constitution  of  which,  during  the  sixteenth  century, 
they  were  the  two  great  representatives  ;  and  thus  formed, 
on  the  shores  of  our  lake,  the  bonds  of  that  brotherhood 
which  will  forever  unite  Scotland  and  Geneva. 

Knox  having  learnt,  in  1559,  the  extremity  to  which  his 
brethren  of  Scotland  were  reduced,  and  having  received  let- 
ters, by  express,  inviting  him  to  return  to  his  own  country, 
he  resolved  to  repair  thither,  and  devote  his  life  to  the  cause 
of  the  Gospel  and  of  the  Reformation.  He  left  Geneva,  where 
he  had  enjoyed  all  the  calm  delights  of  a  Christian  life ;  he 
left  Calvin,  whom  he  had  so  well  understood.  He  turned 
from  our  snow-topped  mountains,  and  from  our  free  and 
happy  city,  traversed  France,  embarked  at  Dieppe,  and  be- 
ing prevented  from  passing  through  England,  landed  at 
Leith,  near  Edinburgh,  on  the  2d  of  May,  1559. 

But  it  was  not  only  what  he  had  brought  from  Geneva, 
that  Knox  was  to  realize  in  Scotland;  Knox  and  Scotland 
were  to  perform  a  task,  which  was  not  given  (in  the  same 
degree  at  least)  to  Calvin  and  Geneva. 

The  independence  of  the  church  which  Christ  has  re- 
deemed with  his  most  precious  blood,  and  which  belongs  to 
Him  alone,  and  not  to  earthly  rulers, — is  the  treasure  which 
was  to  be  intrusted  to  the  regenerated  men  among  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Picts  and  Scots.  One  circumstance  con- 
tributed to  this  special  vocation  :  it  was,  that  nowhere,  un- 
less in  France,  did  the  government  show  itself  so  hostile  to 


SCOTTISH   STRUGGLES.  177 

evangelical  doctrine  and  discipline  as  in  Scotland.  If  Scot- 
land so  energetically  resisted  all  state  interference,  it  was 
not  only  for  the  sake  of  maintaining  a  few  ecclesiastical 
forms ;  but  because  through  these  forms,  the  state  was  en- 
deavoring to  reach  and  to  destroy  the  doctrine  and  the  very 
life  of  the  church.  Scotland  is  a  small  country  ;  not  so  in 
the  struggle  she  has  had  to  wage  during  the  last  three  cen- 
turies, and  it  well  deserves  the  interest  of  all  who  are  con- 
vinced that  those  whom  Christ  has  redeemed  should  forever 
be  free. 

At  the  time  of  Knox's  arrival  in  Edinburgh,  a  number  of 
the  evangelical  ministers  of  Scotland  had  been  summoned 
before  the  Justiciary  Court,  and  in  eight  days  they  were  to 
take,  their  trial  for  having  taught  heresy,  and  excited  tumults 
among  the  people.  Their  enemies,  preparing  a  treacherous 
scheme  to  get  rid  of  them  by  death,  had  met  for  several 
days  in  the  monastery  of  the  Grayfriars  at  Edinburgh ;  when, 
on  the  morning  of  the  3rd  of  May,  while  the  priests  were 
maturing  their  plots,  a  monk,  who  liad  probably  been  beg- 
ging about  the  town,  rushed  into  the  monastery,  and  run- 
ning breathless,  and  pale  with  terror,  into  the  room  where 
the  clergy  were  assembled,  exclaimed,  "  John  Knox  !  John 
Knox  is  come !  He  is  here  !  He  slept  last  night  in  Edin- 
burgh !"  If  a  thunderbolt  had  fallen  in  the  midst  of  them, 
the  priests  could  not  have  felt  more  alarm.  They  rose 
hastily,  left  the  hall  and  the  convent ;  and  dispersed,  some 
one  way,  some  another,  in  the  greatest  confusion  and  dismay. 

Such  was  the  effect  produced  by  the  arrival  in  Scotland  of 
the  refugee  from  Geneva.  He  lost  no  time,  and  his  preach- 
ing quickly  excited  every  mind.  His  friends  for  his  sake 
feared  the  effects  of  his  courage.  "  As  for  the  fear  of  dan- 
ger that  may  come  to  me,"  said  he  to  them,  "let  no  man  be 
solicitous ;  for  my  life  is  in  the  custody  of  Him  whose  glory 
I  seek.  I  desire  the  hand  or  weapon  of  no  man  to  defend 
me."  With  such  sentiments,  Knox  determined  to  remain  in 
St.  Andrews,  the  see  of  the  primate,  the  Scottish  Rome,  for 


178  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

he  knew  that  it  was  at  the  centre  of  an  army  that  the  strong- 
est blows  should  be  dealt.  On  the  16th  of  June,  1559,  he 
ascended  the  pulpit,  and  preached  before  a  numerous  audi- 
tory ;  among  whom  were  many  of  the  clergy,  and  of  the 
armed  retainers  of  the  bishop,  who  had  been  prepared  to 
take  the  Reformer's  life. 

St.  Andrews !  How  many  reminiscences  were  recalled  to 
me  by  this  antique  city,  with  its  venerable  towers  and  its 
numerous  steeples  !  Residing,  during  my  visit  to  this  town, 
in  the  house  of  Sir  David  Brewster,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
scientific  men  of  Scotland,  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  have  Dr. 
Hetherington,  the  historian  of  the  Scottish  Church,  for  my 
guide  among  its  antiquities.  With  what  interest  did  I  sur- 
vey alternately  the  magnificent  ruins  of  that  cathedral,  the 
work  of  many  centuries,  which  one  word  from  Knox  brought 
down  in  a  single  day  ;  then,  at  no  great  distance,  upon  those 
enormous  perpendicular  rocks,  at  whose  foot  the  waves  dash 
incessantly,  the  picturesque  remains  of  the  castle,  whose  an- 
cient walls  now  serve  as  a  landmark  to  the  mariner;  and 
then,  again,  those  squares  where  the  martyrs  shed  their 
blood  at  the  period  of  the  Reformation,  and  in  one  of  which 
now  stands  a  temple  of  the  Free  Church,  on  the  very  spot 
where  three  centuries  ago  a  scaffold  was  erected.  How  many 
spirits  could  I  call  up,  as  I  walked  among  these  ruins ! 

Previous  to  the  powerful  preaching  of  Knox,  the  bishop 
of  St.  Andrews  fled  in  alarm  to  Edinburgh,  to  the  Queen 
Regent,  to  inform  her  of  the  triumph  of  the  Reformation. 
That  princess  immediately  sent  an  army  against  the  Lords 
and  the  People  of  the  Congregation,  who  then  determined 
upon  resistance.  These  courageous  Scots,  animated  with 
the  love  of  Christ,  successively  entered  Perth,  Stirling,  and 
Edinburgh.  The  Roman  worship  was  soon  abolished  over 
almost  the  whole  of  Scotland;  and  in  July,  1560,  a  treaty 
between  Mary  Stuart{  Queen  of  Scotland  the  (Regent  being 
now  dead),  and  Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England,  stipulated  an 
amnesty,  and  an  early  convocation  of  the  Parliament.  This 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  179 

Parliament,  which  met  in  August,  accepted  the  Confession 
of  Faith,  drawn  up  by  Knox  and  his  friends,  and  definitively 
abolished  the  Papal  jurisdiction,  without  however  bestowing 
upon  the  new  church  the  yoke  of  the  state.  Thus,  the  first 
fact  we  meet  with  in  this  history  is  this : — the  church  began 
in  Scotland,  by  lying  under  the  cross  and  receiving  from  the 
political  powers  nothing  but  persecution.  In  1560  she  be- 
came, in  a  manner,  national,  yet  she  remained  free ;  and  it 
was  only  seven  years  later  that  she  was  erected  into  a  State 
Church,  and  became,  what  is  called  in  Britain,  an  Establish- 
ment. 

II. 

A    CHURCH    AND    A    QUEEN. 

POPERY  being  thus  abolished  in  Scotland,  the  Christian 
church  proceeded  to  constitute  itself,  and,  on  the  20th  De- 
cember, 1560,  the  first  General  Assembly  was  held.  It  did 
not  meet  by  the  convocation  of  the  Parliament.  That  im- 
portant body  in  the  state  remained  passive  in  regard  to  it, 
and  did  nothing  either  for  or  against  it.  It  was  the  authority 
of  the  church  itself,  which  was  set  forth  alone  by  this  As- 
sembly. This  first  great  synod  had  no  other  origin  than  the 
conscience  of  the  evangelized  people,  than  the  convocation 
of  Christ.  This  origin  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  is  of 
great  importance  to  enable  us  to  comprehend  the  freedom 
which  is  her  characteristic. 

Knox  and  his  associates  had  already,  as  we  have  seen, 
drawn  up  a  Confession  of  Faith ;  the  Assembly  felt  the  ne- 
cessity of  having  an  ecclesiastical  constitution,  and  intrusted 
the  work  to  the  same  divines.  Thus  was  produced  the  First 
Book  of  Discipline,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  earliest 
charter  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  ;  and  which,  without  being 
at  that  time  ratified  by  the  queen's  council,  there  being  as 
yet  no  religious  establishment,  was  signed  by  most  of  the 
councillors  of  the  crown,  as  members  of  the  church. 


180  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

I  do  not  mean  to  exhibit  the  Presbyterian  system  as  set- 
tled by  this  charter.  I  will  content  myself  with  observing 
what  concerns  one  of  the  principles  which  I  have  pointed 
out  as  essential  to  Scotland, — the  liberty  of  the  flocks  with 
respect  to  the  election  of  pastors. 

The  First  Book  of  Discipline,  in  the  2d  section  of  the  4th 
chapter,  says, — 

"  It  appertaineth  to  the  people,  and  to  every  several  con- 
gregation, to  elect  their  minister."  In  the  4th  section : 
"Altogether  this  is  to  be  avoided  that  any  man  be  violently 
intruded  or  thrust  in  upon  any  congregation ;  but  this 
liberty  with  all  care  must  be  reserved  to  every  several 
church  to  have  their  votes  and  suffrages  in  the  election  of 
ministers." 

Such  are  the  primary  rights  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
beyond  all  ambiguity  and  all  dispute.  And  if  within  our 
own  times  there  have  been  conflicts  on  this  subject,  we  must 
seek  for  their  source  three  centuries  back. 

In  1565,  Queen  Mary  Stuart,  the  niece  of  the  Guises,  that 
woman  so  celebrated  for  her  beauty  and  her  imprudent  con- 
duct, wishing  to  marry  Darnley,  attempted  to  draw  closer  to 
the  General  Assembly,  which  she  was  desirous  of  gaining 
over.  But  the  queen  soon  showed  that  nothing  was  to  be 
expected  from  her.  She  declared  that  she  would  remain 
constant  to  the  Romish  faith,  and  yet  maintain  within  the 
Presbyterian  church  her  claim  of  patronage ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  privilege  of  appointing  ministers  to  certain  parishes. 

The  General  Assembly,  not  daring  to  resist  these  preten- 
sions, replied,  that  the  presentation  in  certain  cases  belonged 
to  the  patrons,  but  the  definitive  appointment  belonged  to 
the  church ;  because  if  the  church  had  not  the  right  of  ac- 
cepting or  of  refusing  her  ministers,  the  patrons  might  pre- 
sent whomsoever  they  pleased  without  trial  and  without 
examination.  From  that  time  many  of  the  nobles  opposed 
the  Reformation  and  the  Book  of  Discipline ;  for  order  and 
freedom  have  met  with  adversaries  in  all  times  and  in  all 


SCOTTISH   STRUGGLES.  181 

places.  "  This  system,"  they  exclaimed,  "  is  but  a  devout 
imagination,  a  dream,  proceeding  no  doubt  from  good  inten- 
tions, but  impossible  to  realize."  History  has  triumphantly 
answered  these  empty  words. 

This  opposition  was  soon  manifested  in  a  General  Assem- 
bly, held  in  December,  1661.  Several  lords  disputed  the 
legality,  or  even  the  possibility  of  such  convention,  without 
the  consent  and  good  pleasure  of  the  queen.  But  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  church  immediately  found  defenders.  Knox, 
in  answer  to  Maitland  of  Lethington,  the  Secretary  of  State, 
said,  "  Take  from  us  the  liberty  of  Assemblies,  and  you  take 
from  us  the  Gospel !"  This  is  a  strong  expression ;  but 
Knox  justified  it  by  adding,  "  If  the  liberty  of  the  church 
must  depend  upon  the  queen's  allowance  or  disallowance,  we 
shall  want  not  only  Assemblies,  but  also  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel." 

Thus  did  Knox  protest  and  assert  that  the  church  should 
be  independent  of  the  state,  and  dispense  with  its  permission, 
because  she  would  not  submit  to  its  denial. 

Such  was  the  commencempnt  of  Presbyterianism  in  Scot- 
land. Popery,  abolished  as  a  national  worship,  remained 
only  as  the  religion  of  the  court,  and  evangelical  Presbyte- 
rianism was  freely,  yet  powerfully  set  up.  Rome  could  not 
behold  this  state  of  things  without  anger,  and  every  thing 
was  soon  prepared  for  a  revolution. 

The  Council  of  Trent  had  lately  passed  a  decree  for  the 
extirpation  of  the  Protestant  faith  ;  and  the  Guises,  the  uncles 
of  Mary  Stuart,  had  invited  their  niece  to  join  in  the  League 
of  Bayonne,  formed  for  that  purpose.  Mary  hesitated  not  to 
do  so.  The  excellent  Earl  of  Murray,  and  most  of  the  Prot- 
estant lords,  had  already  been  exiled.  Mary  went  still  far- 
ther ;  she  appointed  a  meeting  of  Parliament,  in  which  the 
Romish  prelates  were  to  resume  their  places,  and  ordered 
popish  altars  to  be  set  up  in  the  Cathedral  of  Edinburgh. 
The  restoration  of  Popery  was  about  to  be  accomplished.  It 
was  arrested  by  the  hand  of  God. 


182  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

At  this  time  happened  one  of  those  remarkable  events  in 
which  the  Almighty  permits  the  wicked  to  destroy  each 
other,  and  thereby  delivers  the  righteous.  It  is  one  of  the 
scenes  most  vividly  recalled  to  the  recollection  of  strangers 
who  visit  Edinburgh  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  such  notice,  as  vin- 
dicating in  an  awful  manner  the  providence  of  God.  While 
I  was  going  through  the  ancient  palace  of  Holyrood  I  went 
into  the  apartments  of  Mary  Stuart :  I  entered  her  chamber, 
I  stood  before  her  bed ;  I  stopped  in  that  famous  and  some- 
what narrow  closet,  adjoining  the  queen's  bed-chamber,  in 
which  was  enacted  one  of  the  crimes  of  that  age,  perpetrated 
in  the  midst  and  in  defiance  of  the  sacred  light  of  the  Refor- 
mation. I  cannot  avoid  giving  an  account  of  my  impressions 
as  a  traveller. 

I  was  at  Holyrood.  I  placed  myself  three  centuries  back 
(9th  March,  1566,)  and  pictured  to  myself  what  was  then 
passing  in  that  tragical  cabinet.  It  is  evening,  the  hour  of 
supper ;  the  queen  is  at  table  :  beside  her  sits  an  Italian,  her 
private  secretary,  Rizzio  by  name,  whom  the  popish  princes 
of  the  Continent  have  chosen  as  the  agent  of  their  plots  at 
Edinburgh,  and  who  for  some  time  has  enjoyed  the  intimacy 
of  the  queen  so  closely  as  to  excite  the  jealousy  of  Darnley, 
the  prince  on  Avhom  she  had  bestowed  her  hand.  With  the 
queen  and  Rizzio  are  also  the  Countess  of  Argyle,  and  one 
or  two  other  persons.  They  are  eating,  drinking,  conversing, 
jesting,  laughing ;  they  think  of  nothing  but  pleasure.  On 
a  sudden,  Darnley  enters,  the  papist  Darnley,  and  without 
saluting  any  one,  darts  at  Rizzio  a  look  of  vengeance.  Be- 
hind him  stands  Lord  Ruthven,  risen  from  a  sick  bed,  with 
pale  and  ghastly  features,  and  in  the  background  appear 
armed  men.  Ruthven,  in  a  hollow  voice,  orders  Rizzio  to 
quit  a  place  of  which  he  is  unworthy  :  the  Italian,  in  alarm, 
seizes  the  queen  by  the  skirts  of  her  garment,  and  implores 
her  protection.  Darnley  forces  him  away,  and  at  that  mo- 
ment George  Douglas,  pulling  out  the  king's  own  dagger, 
strikes  Rizzio  with  it.  In  an  instant  cries  and  tears  succeed 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  183 

. 

to  laughter  and  to  joy.  The  secretary  is  dragged  away  into 
the  outer  apartment,  and,  in  spite  of  the  queen's  supplica- 
tions, falls  pierced  with  fifty-six  wounds ;  his  blood  flows  in 
streams  upon  the  floor.  The  marks  of  it  are  still  visible ; 
and  for  these  279  years,  nothing,  as  the  guide  asserts,  has 
'been  able  to  efface  the  stains.  I  believe  this  fact  possible. 
When  the  queen  heard  of  his  death,  "  Now,"  said  she,  "  I 
will  dry  my  tears,  and  think  of  revenge." 

Thenceforward,  indeed,  revenge  became  her  ruling  pas- 
sion, and  she  forgot  the  Presbyterians,  to  persecute  her  own 
husband  and  Rizzio's  assassins.  She  perceived  in  Bothwell, 
a  profligate  noble  of  her  court,  an  instrument  fitted  for  her 
purpose,  and  within  a  year  the  king,  her  husband,  was  mur- 
dered by  that  miscreant.  The  queen  married  for  the  third 
time,  and  married  the  murderer  of  her  husband.  Then  did 
the  divine,  vengeance, — that  vengeance  which  delays,  but 
which  surely  comes,  and  of  which  Elizabeth  became  the 
great  instrument, — begin  to  burst  upon  Mary  Stuart.  I  will 
proceed  no  farther  into  that  which  concerns  her.  Rizzio,  the 
envoy  of  the  Guises,  fell  by  the  orders  of  the  papist  Darn- 
ley  ;  Darnley  fell  by  the  orders  of  the  papist  Mary  Stuart ; 
Mary  Stuart  fell  in  her  turn.  "  The  wicked  shall  fall  by  his 
own  wickedness,"  saith  the  prophet  (Prov.  xi.  5.)  ;  and  "the 
Lord  will  destroy  all  the  wicked."  (Ps.  cxlv.  20.)  On  the 
Continent,  and  especially  in  France,  Mary  Stuart  has  been 
perpetually  lauded,  and  Knox  insulted.  It  should  be  known 
what  was  the  character  of  that  queen,  with  whom  the  great 
reformer  had  to  deal,  and  whose  misdeeds  he  could  some- 
times so  courageously  rebuke.  Before  the  tribunal  of  the 
world,  it  is  often  enough  to  be  beautiful  to  expiate  great 
faults,  but  this  is  not  sufficient  before  the  tribunal  of  God. 


184  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

/ 

III. 

THE    TULCHANS. 

MARY  STUART  had  fallen.  Immediately  there  took  place 
throughout  Scotland  so  decided  a  movement  in  favor  of  Pres- 
byterianism,  as  to  proceed,  perhaps,  beyond  desirable  limits. 
The  excellent  Earl  of  Murray,  a  zealous  reformer,  being  re- 
called from  exile,  was  placed  as  regent  at  the  head  of  the 
government;  the  parliament  met  on  the  loth  of  December, 
1567  ;  and  it  was  then  that  the  Reformed  Church  was  recog- 
nized and  established  by  the  state, — a  triumph  similar  to  that 
of  Christianity,  when  under  Constantine  the  religion  of  the 
crucified  One  ascended  the  throne  of  the  Caesars.  Alas  !  what 
worldliness  and  corruption  did  the  church  find  on  the  throne 
of  the  emperors !  what  anguish,  what  struggles,  and  what 
martyrdom  did  she  find  around  the  throne  of  the  Stuarts ! 

Nevertheless,  the  church,  founded  in  opposition  to  a  tyran- 
nical hierarchy  and  a  hostile  government,  had  assumed  a 
character  of  liberty  of  which  she  could  never  be  deprived. 
The  Scottish  people,  ardently  devoted  to  the  Reformation, 
had  joyfully  embraced  the  principles  of  the  Presbyterian  in- 
stitutions. Of  simple  manners,  fond  of  civil  liberty,  full  of 
affection  for  the  things  of  God,  this  generous  nation,  while 
\vithstanding  the  claims  of  an  ambitious  clergy,  had  asserted 
their  right  of  effecting  for  themselves  all  that  they  judged  to 
be  needful.  Ecclesiastical  discipline  prevented  the  inconve- 
niences that  might  have  arisen  from  this  participation  of  the 
people  in  the  interests  of  Christianity,  since  those  only  who 
lived  a  Christian  life  were  permitted  to  exercise  it.  Placed 
at  a  distance  from  the  Continent,  at  a  distance  from  Rome, 
the  Scotch,  by  bestowing  the  ecclesiastical  authority  on  a 
body  composed  of  the  ministers  and  elders  of  the  church, 
believed,  and  believed  rightly,  that  they  were  thus  adhering 
to  the  most  ancient  Christian  traditions,  even  of  Scotland 
herself. 


,,  SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  185 

But  now  that  the  state  and  the  church  are  united  (in  1567), 
will  not  the  church  in  Scotland,  as  elsewhere,  purchase  the 
favor  of  the  state  by  concession?  By  no  means.  I  will 
quote  an  instance  of  this.  The  seventh  chapter  of  the  Act 
of  Parliament,  in  1567,  asserts  in  the  most  positive  manner 
the  independence  of  the  church  :  "  It  is  ordained,"  it  is  there 
said,  "that  the  examination  and  the  admission  of  ministers 
shall  be  only  in  the  power  of  the  kirk."  This  act  adds,  that 
"  if  the  person  presented  by  the  patron  is  refused,  the  patron 
may  appeal  to  the  synod ;  and  that  if  the  latter  refuse  like- 
wise, the  patron  may  appeal  to  the  General  Assembly,  by 
whom  the  cause  being  decided,  shall  take  an  end  as  they  discern 
and  declare." 

This  fundamental  law,  therefore,  establishes  that  when  the 
supreme  ecclesiastical  authority  has  decided,  the  cause  is  con- 
cluded, so  that  no  appeal  can  be  made  from  the  General  As- 
sembly to  any  civil  authority.  The  final  judgment  belongs 
to  the  ecclesiastical  authority.  This  law  was  one  of  the 
causes  which,  in  1843,  brought  about  the  founding  of  the 
Free  Church.  They  were  desirous,  after  three  centuries,  of 
remaining  faithful  to  it. 

It  is  said  that  the  General  Assembly  cannot  reject  the 
presentee,  except  on  the  ground  of  certain  faults.  We  must 
observe,  that  there  is  in  the  fundamental  law  no  trace  of  any 
such  restriction.  Such  distinctions  and  complicated  exam- 
inations were  then  unknown.  It  was  the  man — the  minister 
in  his  whole  character, — that  the  ministers,  the  elders,  and 
the  flocks  judged,  admitted,  or  rejected. 

Thus,  in  1567,  the  Reformed  Church  of  Scotland,  which  had 
long  before  existed,  was  recognized,  but  not  created  by  the 
state.  It  was  no  act  of  parliament  that  brought  her  into 
existence  :  it  was  from  a  decree  of  the  court  of  Heaven,  from 
the  will  of  the  Head  of  the  church,  that  she  derived  her 
life.  She  existed  with  her  doctrine,  with  her  discipline,  with 
her  constitution,  and  with  her  presbyteries,  her  synods,  and 
her  general  assemblies,  in  greater  completeness,  perhaps, 


186  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

than  any  other  church,  when  the  state  adopted  her.  Far 
from  bringing  her  into  existence,  it  had  long  sought  to  put 
her  to  death. 

However,  the  good  regent  Murray  soon  after  fell  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin ;  and  immediately  the  state,  notwith- 
standing her  recent  alliance,  recommenced  her  struggle  with 
the  church.  This  is  already  the  fourth  revolution  since  the 
abolition  of  Popery  ;  and  it  is  a  most  ridiculous  one. 

The  Romish  prelates  who  had  been  set  aside,  had  re- 
tained two-thirds  of  their  revenues.  Two-thirds  for  doing 
nothing, — this  was  treating  them  very  generously  !  Several 
of  them  having  now  died,  it  was  asked,  upon  whom  these 
two-thirds  should  devolve  ?  A  custom,  then  common 
among  the  herdsmen  of  the  Highlands,  gave  the  idea,  or  at 
least  the  name,  to  the  practice  of  which  the  new  regent 
now  availed  himself.  When  the  Highland  herdsmen  wished 
to  have  the  milk  of  a  cow,  from  which  they  had  taken  her 
calf,  they  set  before  her,  if  the  creature  was  refractory,  a 
stuffed  calf-skin,  to  which  they  managed  to  give  some  sort 
of  living  look,  and  which  they  called  a  Tulchan.  The  cow 
thus  gave  her  milk  apparently  for  the  Tulchan,  in  reality  for 
the  herdsman. 

Morton,  the  new  regent,  did  the  same.  Hamilton,  the 
archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  having  died,  Morton  himself 
took  possession  of  the  revenues  of  his  see ;  but  as  he,  being 
a  layman,  could  not  touch  the  revenues  of  a  church  benefice, 
he  made  an  arrangement  with  a  clergyman,  John  Douglas, 
to  whom  he  gave  the  title  of  archbishop,  reserving  the  rents 
for  himself,  and  this  plan  he  soon  undertook  to  apply  to  all 
the  bishoprics  of  Scotland.  "The  bishop,"  says  the  his- 
torian Calderwood,  "  had  the  title,  but  my  lord  got  the 
milk."  The  prelates  thus  appointed,  were  thenceforward 
called  by  the  name  of  Tulchan  bishops. 

In  this  strange  proceeding,  it  was  the  claim  of  the  civil 
power  to  appoint  to  an  ecclesiastical  function  which  most 
displeased  the  church.  Scotland  was  moved :  all  cried  out 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  187 

against  the  encroachments  of  the  civil  power ;  all  felt  that  it 
was  stretching  forth  its  hand  to  trouble  the  pure  and  living 
waters  which  flow  from  the  Rock.  Erskine  of  Dun,  a  man 
of  a  pacific  but  firm  temper,  now  addressed  these  words  to 
the  regent,  which,  clearly  marking  the  distinctions  existing 
between  the  ecclesiastical  and  the  political  power,  strongly 
exhibit  the  essential  character  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  : — 
" There  is,"  says  he  to  Morton,  "a  spiritual  jurisdiction 
and  power,  which  God  hath  given  unto  his  kirk  and  to 
them  that  bear  office  therein  ;  and  there  is  a  temporal  juris- 
diction and  power,  given  of  God  to  kings  and  civil  magis- 
trates. Both  the  powers  are  of  God,  and  most  agreeing  to 
the  fortifying  one  of  the  other,  if  they  be  right  used.  But 
when  the  corruption  of  man  enters  in,  confounding  the  of- 
fices, usurping  to  himself  what  he  pleases,  nothing  regard- 
ing the  good  order  appointed  by  God,  then  confusion  fol- 
lows in  all  estates.  The  kirk  of  God  should  fortify  all  law- 
ful power  and  authority  that  pertains  to  the  civil  magistrate, 
because  it  is  the  ordinance  of  God.  But  if  he  pass  the 
bounds  of  his  office,  and  enter  within  the  sanctuary  of  the 
Lord,  meddling  with  such  things  as  appertain  to  the  minis- 
ters of  God's  kirk,  then  the  servants  of  God  should  with- 
stand his  unjust  enterprise,  for  so  they  are  commanded  by 
God." 

Such,  from  the  sixteenth  century,  have  been  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Not  in  vain  have  they  been 
proclaimed,  either  at  that  time  or  in  our  own  day.  The 
Church  beheld  a  new  deliverance  arise. 

IV. 

THE    COURTIERS    AND    A    MINISTER    OF    GOD. 

IN  15*78,  the  regent  Morton  resigned  his  functions,  and 
James  Stuart,  (James  VI.  of  Scotland,  afterwards  James  I. 
of  England,)  the  son  of  Mary  Stuart  and  Darnley,  and  then 


188  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

only  twelve  years  of  age,  took,  or  appeared  to  take,  the  reins 
of  government  into  his  own  hands.  This  young  king's  ac- 
cession to  power  was  signalized  by  a  more  complete  develop- 
ment of  Presbyterianism.  The  General  Assembly  gave  its 
sanction  to  the  "  Second  Book  of  Discipline,"  intended  to 
complete  the  first,  and  called  also  "  The  Book  of  Policy, 
which  has  been  regarded  as  the  charter  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  These  are  the  principles  established  in  this  essen- 
tial document : 

"  The  policy  of  the  kirk  is  an  order  or  form  of  spiritual 
government,  which  is  exercised  by  the  members  appointed 
thereto  by  the  Word  of  God. 

"  This  power  and  policy  ecclesiastical  is  different  and  dis- 
tinct in  its  own  nature  from  that  power  and  policy  which  is 
called  the  civil  power. 

"  For  this  power  ecclesiastical  flows  immediately  from 
God,  and  the  Mediator  Jesus  Christ,  and  is  spiritual,  not 
having  a  temporal  head  on  earth,  but  only  Christ,  the  only 
Spiritual  King  and  Governor  of  his  kirk." 

Such  are  the  general  principles  of  this  Scottish  charter. 

These  are  the  special  principles  as  to  the  election  of  pas- 
tors : — 

It  is  said  in  the  third  chapter,  sections  4  and  5  : — "Elec- 
tion is  the  choosing  out  of  a  person  or  persons  most  able  to 
the  office  that  vaikes  (becomes  vacant)  by  the  judgment  of 
the  eldership,  and  consent  of  the  congregation.  *  *  *  * 
In  the  order  of  election,  it  is  to  be  eschewed  that  a  person  be 
intruded  in  any  of  the  offices  of  the  kirk,  contrary  to  the  will 
of  the  congregation  to  whom  they  are  appointed,  or  without 
the  voice  of  the  eldership." 

The  twelfth  chapter  says  : — "  The  liberty  of  the  election 
of  persons  called  to  the  ecclesiastical  functions,  and  observed 
without  interruption  so  long  as  the  church  was  not  corrupted 
by  antichrist,  we  desire  to  be  restored  and  retained  within 
this  realm,  so  that  none  be  intruded  upon  any  congrega- 
tion, either  by  the  prince,  or  any  inferior  person,  without 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  189 

lawful  election,  and  the  assent  of  the  people  over  whom  the 
person  is  placed." 

The  Church  of  Scotland  went  even  farther  than  this,  and 
finding  herself  unable  to  declare  the  abolition  of  patronage, 
expressed,  at  least,  the  wish  of  doing  so : — 

"  We  desire  all  them  that  truly  fear  God,  earnestly  to  con- 
sider that  for  sa  meikle  (forasmuch)  as  the  names  of  patron- 
ages and  benefices,  together  with  the  effect  thereof,  have 
flowed  from  the  pope,  and  corruption  of  the  canon  law  only, 
in  so  far  as  thereby  any  person  was  intruded  or  placed  over 
kirks  having  cur  am  animarum ;  and  for  sa  meikle  as  that 
manner  of  proceeding  has  no  ground  in  the  Word  of  God,  but 
is  contrary  to  the  same,  and  to  the  said  liberty  of  election, 
they  ought  not  now  to  have  place  in  this  light  of  reforma- 
tion." 

The  Book  of  Policy  having  been  sanctioned  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  was  presented  to  the  king  to  receive  his  con- 
firmation. This  prince,  or  rather  his  court,  demanded  an 
amendment,  says  Calderwood :  he  desired,  that  in  the  arti- 
cle against  the  intrusion  of  a  minister,  these  words — "  con- 
trary to  the  will  of  the  congregation," — should  be  erased, 
and  the  following  substituted — "  if  the  people  have  a  lawful 
cause  against  his  life  or  manners."  The  church  rejected  this 
amendment.  She  believed,  doubtless,  that  there  would  al- 
ways be  persons  ready  to  assert  that  the  objection  was  not 
valid,  and  that  thus  the  liberties  of  the  church  would  be  re- 
duced to  nothing.  The  amendment  desired,  though  not  ob- 
tained, by  James,  very  nearly  resembles,  in  our  opinion,  that 
•which  was  recently  passed  in  Lord  Aberdeen's  bill.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  the  evangelical  party  in  the  Church  of 
Scotland  has  always  regarded  this  amendment  as  a  sort  of 
back  door,  through  which  might  be  taken  away  what  is  ap- 
parently given  in  by  the  front  one.  The  Book  of  Policy,  up 
to  the  present  day,  must  be  signed  by  all  ministers.  The 
son  of  Mary  Stuart  did  not  positively  accept  it ;  but  the  act 
of  1592,  by  which  the  state  recognized  the  church  "  as  it 


190  HISTORICAL   RECOLLECTIONS. 

then  existed,"  thereby  recognized  the  ordinances  by  which 
the  church  was  constituted.  Were  Henry  V.,  the  grandson 
of  Charles  X.,  to  declare  that  he  acknowledged  France  "  as 
she  now  exists,"  would  he  not  mean  that  he  acknowledged 
the  charter  by  which  she  is  governed  ?  Nay,  more ;  thjs 
very  act  of  1592  quotes  several  passages  of  the  "  Second 
Book  of  Discipline."  This  constitutional  book  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  drawn  up  in  the  sixteenth  century  (in  15Y8), 
was  one  of  the  causes  which  brought  about  the  great  dis- 
ruption in  the  nineteenth.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  church 
which  has  preserved  its  homogeneity  so  completely  as  the 
Church  of  Scotland. 

The  enemies  of  the  church  were  not  long  in  recognizing 
each  other.  The  young  king  had  escaped  from  the  guard- 
ianship of  the  aged  Morton,  only  to  fall  under  the  influence 
of  young  nobles,  still  more  dangerous  than  he.  Surrounded, 
like  Rehoboam,  with  favorites,  who  had  been  brought  up 
with  him,  James  was  ready  to  say  to  his  people,  "  My 
mother  hath  chastised  you  with  whips,  I  will  chastise  you 
with  scorpions."  Great  tribulation  was  preparing  for  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  Esme  Stuart,  whom  the  king  had  cre- 
ated Duke  of  Lennox,  and  James  Stuart,  whom  he  made 
Earl  of  Arran,  thenceforward  governed  that  weak  prince,  and 
led  him  into  evil  by  their  advice,  their  example,  their  com- 
pliance, and  their  flattery.  Lennox  was  a  papist  when  he 
arrived  in  Scotland  from  France ;  and,  although  he  after- 
wards took  the  name  of  Protestant,  no  one  trusted  to  his 
evangelical  faith.  Arran  was  a  man  of  licentious  character, 
whose  craft  and  boldness  no  obstacle  could  arrest.  What 
evils  might  not  the  pious  men  of  Scotland  apprehend  from 
such  a  triumvirate  !  It  was  not  long  before  the  encroach- 
ments of  despotism  and  disorder  made  their  appearance. 

The  king  had  just  ratified  Craig's  Confession  of  Faith, 
which  became  the  first  national  covenant  of  Scotland,  when 
Boyd,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  having  died,  the  privy  coun- 
cil granted  to  the  Duke  of  Lennox,  a  disguised  papist,  the 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  191 

revenues  of  the  archbishopric ;  but  as  he  was  not  able  to 
draw  them  in  his  own  name,  he  had  recourse  to  a  bishop  of 
straw,  according  to  the  Tulchan  system. 

In  vain  had  the  General  Assembly,  in  1578,  abolished  all 
these  bishops.  "  True,"  said  they,  "  the  bishops,  but  not 
the  archbishops !"  Lennox  found  a  minister  of  Stirling, 
named  Robert  Montgomery,  a  weak,  vain,  and  presumptuous 
man,  who  consented  to  play  the  mean  part  of  his  Tulchan ; 
and  the  king  imposed  this  puppet  of  an  archbishop  upon 
the  General  Assembly.  But  that  body  contained  men  too 
friendly  to  liberty,  and  too  inimical  to  hierarchical  abuses, 
not  to  protest  against  this  simoniacal  introduction  of  epis- 
copacy. 

In  1582,  the  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  having 
met  at  St.  Andrews,  and  the  government  understanding 
what  they  were  about  do  do,  a  messenger-at-arms  entered 
the  hall  and  forbade  them,  under  pain  of  rebellion,  to  pro- 
ceed against  Montgomery.  But  after  serious  deliberation 
the  Assembly  declared,  that  "  No  man  can  pretend  to  eccle- 
siastical functions,  office,  promotion,  or  benefice,  by  any  ab- 
solute gift,  collation,  or  admission  by  the  civil  magistrate  or 
patron ;"  and  that  Montgomery,  by  accepting  an  ecclesias- 
tical function  at  the  hands  of  the  state,  had  incurred  the 
double  penalty  of  deposition  and  excommunication.  The 
act  of  1582  is  still  in  force  in  the  church.  It  is  thought 
that  in  our  times  it  has  not  been  strictly  observed.* 

Montgomery,  in  alarm,  appeared  before  the  Assembly, 
acknowledged  that  he  had  offended  God  and  His  church, 
humbled  himself  before  them,  and  promised  to  give  up  the 
archbishopric.  B^it  incited  by  Lennox,  who  wanted  the 
milk  of  the  cow,  he  soon  after  entered  with  a  band  of  sol- 
diers into  the  hall  in  which  the  Presbyters  of  Glasgow  had 
met,  and  presented  an  order  from  the  king.  The  Presbytery 
refused  to  comply  with  this  order,  which  they  regarded 
as  null  in  an  ecclesiastical  matter,  and  the  moderator  was 

*  In  the  cases  of  Marnoch  and  Auchterarder. 


192  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

dragged  from  his  chair,  insulted  and  beaten,  and  thrown  into 
prison.  Thus  did  the  storm  of  persecution  begin  to  rage  in 
consequence  of  the  interference  of  the  civil  power. 

The  question  was,  whether  the  passions  of  men,  their 
avarice  and  their  ambition,  ought  to  rule  over  the  church  in 
the  place  of  Jesus  Christ,  His  word,  and  His  truth.  The 
church  stood  firm.  She  attended  to  this  saying,  "  Abhor 
that  which  is  evil,  cleave  to  that  which  is  good."  The  ex- 
communication of  Montgomery  was  intimated  from  the  pul- 
pits, and  an  Extraordinary  Assembly  having  met,  drew  up 
an  address  to  the  king  in  these  terms  : — "  Your  Majesty,  by 
device  of  some  counsellors,  is  caused  to  take  upon  your 
Grace  that  spiritual  power  and  authority,  which  properly 
belongeth  to  Christ,  as  only  King  and  Head  of  his  kirk. 
The  ministry  and  execution  thereof  is  only  given  to  such  as 
bear  office  in  the  ecclesiastical  government  of  the  same.  So 
that  in  your  Grace's  person  some  men  press  to  erect-  a  new 
popedom,  as  though  your  Majesty  could  not  be  free  king 
and  head  of  this  commonwealth,  unless  as  well  the  spiritual 
as  the  temporal  sword  be  put  in  your  Grace's  hand  ;  unless 
Christ  be  bereft  of  his  authority,  and  the  two  jurisdictions 
confounded  which  God  hath  divided." 

It  now  remained  to  present  this  spirited  address  to  the 
king.  A  deputation,  at  the  head  of  which  was  that  excel- 
lent minister  Andrew  Melville,  repaired  to  Perth,  where  the 
king  was  residing.  The  court  was  indignant  at  the  boldness 
of  the  Assembly,  the  two  favorites  exclaimed  loudly  against 
it,  and  all  Avere  apprehensive  that  the  ministers  would  ex- 
piate their  audacity  with  their  lives.  "  Beware  !"  they  were 
told,  "  beware  of  appearing  before  the  king."  Melville  re- 
plied, "  I  thank  God,  I  am  not  afraid,  nor  feeble  spirited  in 
the  cause  and  message  of  Christ.  Come  what  God  pleases 
to  send,  our  commission  shall  be  discharged !" 

Accordingly,  notwithstanding  all  solicitations  and  all  men- 
aces, the  deputies  on  the  following  day  proceeded  to  the 
palace.  Did  not  their  Heavenly  Master  say,  "  Ye  shall  be 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  193 

bi  ought  before  governors  and  kings  for  my  sake,  for  a  testi- 
mony against  them  and  the  Gentiles.  But  take  no  thought 
how  or  what  ye  shall  speak :  for  it  shall  be  given  you  in  that 
same  hour  what  ye  shall  speak.  And  fear  not  them  which 
kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul ;  but  rather 
fear  Him  who  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell." 

The  deputies  entered,  and  the  king  in  council  (he  was  then 
sixteen  years  of  age)  received  them  sitting  on  his  throne,  and 
surrounded  with  the  splendor  of  his  court.  Melville  went 
forward,  and  gravely  read  the  remonstrance.  But  hardly 
had  he  finished,  when  the  Earl  of  Arran,  who  was  standing 
near  the  throne,  frowning  terribly  on  all  around  him,  ex- 
claimed in  a  threatening  voice,  "  Who  dare  subscribe  these 
treasonable  articles  ?" 

"  We  dare,"  replied  Melville  calmly  ;  and  then  advancing 
to  the  table  which  was  before  the  king,  he  took  a  pen  from 
the  hand  of  the  secretary  of  the  council,  and  signed  his  name 
below  the  articles.  The  other  deputies  immediately  followed 
his  example.  Every  one  was  struck  with  wonder,  and  none 
dared  to  interrupt  them. 

This  Christian  calmness  laid  the  storm.  "  A  wise  man 
will  pacify  wrath,"  saith  the  Scripture.  Arran,  overawed, 
was  silent ;  Lennox  addressed  some  conciliatory  words  to  the 
deputies ;  the  king  yielded,  Montgomery  retired ;  and  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  church,  in  regard  to  the  calling  and  the 
deprivation  of  ministers,  was  thus  sanctioned  anew  by  this 
very  transaction.  In  the  same  manner  it  Avas,  in  the  question 
of  the  deposition  or  suspension  of  ministers,  that  the  govern- 
ment interfered  during  the  years  preceding  the  formation  of 
the  Free  Church.  Does,  then,  the  British  government,  one 
of  the  most  enlightened,  most  truly  liberal  administrations  in 
political  matters,  believe  itself  able,  in  the  present  day,  to 
achieve  what  an  almost  absolute  king,  surrounded  by  his 
favorites,  dared  not  do  in  the  sixteenth  century  ?  We  do 
not  answer  this  question ;  we  merely  propose  it. 

The  spirited  resistance  of  the  church  bore  its  fruits.  Soon 

9 


194  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

afterwards,  a  better  administration  came  into  power ;  Lennox 
and  Arran  were  removed  from  the  king,  and  satisfaction  was 
diffused  throughout  the  kingdom. 


V. 

KING   JAMES    AND    PRESBYTERIANI8M. 

THIS  did  not  last  long.  The  young  son  of  Mary  Stuart 
recalled  his  flatterers;  and,  in  May  1584,  he  convened  a 
parliament,  which  met  with  closed  doors,  and  in  which  Mont- 
gomery sat  as  Archbishop  of  Glasgow  ;  and  Adamson,  a  still 
baser  character,  as  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews.  These  two 
prelates,  leagued  with  the  unworthy  favorites  of  James,  di- 
rected the  most  despotic  measures.  It  was  then  that  those 
acts  were  passed,  famous  in  the  history  of  Scotland,  and 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Black  Acts,  which,  as  has  been 
said  in  our  own  time,  even  by  one  of  the  heads  of  the  mod- 
erate party,  the  Dean  of  Faculty,  "annihilated  the  church, 
and  left  her  neither  liberty  nor  .independence."  These  acts 
decreed  that  the  king  and  his  council  were  "judges  compe- 
tent in  all  matters  ;"  that  all  judgment,  spiritual  or  temporal, 
which  had  not  been  approved  by  the  king  and  his  parliament, 
should  be  of  no  force  ;  and  that  the  bishops  and  ecclesias- 
tical commissioners  appointed  by  the  king,  might  rule  in  all 
that  concerns  the  church. 

The  Black  Acts  set  up  the  state  to  rule  over  the  church, 
and,  under  the  state,  set  up  the  bishops,  who  were  merely 
its  servile  agents  ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  the  Second  Book 
of  Discipline  established  for  its  government  General  Assem- 
blies, proceeding  from  the  free  choice  of  the  Christian 
people. 

The  struggle  then  began  anew  between  the  servitude  of 
the  church  and  her  freedom. 

At  first  every  thing  tended  towards  her  servitude.  The 
Black  Acts  were  proclaimed  at  the  market-cross  of  Edin- 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  195 

burgh.  In  vain  did  a  few  ministers  read  at  the  same  place, 
in  presence  of  the  people,  a  protest  against  a  legislation, 
which  was  a  deathblow  to  the  church  :  the  will  of  the  king, 
or  rather  that  of  Arran,  prevailed,  and  more  than  twenty 
ministers  were  obliged  to  fly  for  safety  into  England. 

But  a  remedy  was  produced  even  by  the  excess  of  the  evil. 
The  papist  princes  of  the  Continent  were  then  taking  meas- 
ures to  re-establish  the  authority  of  the  Pope  in  Scotland. 
Philip  of  Spain  sent  his  famous  Armada  to  bring  Great  Britain 
again  under  the  yoke  of  the  Roman  pontiff.  It  was  more 
than  suspected  that  the  king's  favorites  had  been  cognizant  of 
these  perfidious  designs.  The  Protestant  spirit  awoke  with 
fresh  energy  ;  there  was  a  new  movement,  a  reaction  in  a 
purely  evangelical  direction  ;  and,  on  the  22d  October,  1589, 
the  king,  setting  out  for  Norway,  where  he  was  to  marry  the 
Princess  Anne  of  Denmark,  appointed  Robert  Bruce,  one 
of  the  ministers  of  Edinburgh,  an  extraordinary  member  of 
his  privy  council,  declaring  that  he  trusted  to  him  to  pre- 
serve peace  in  the  country  more  than  to  all  his  nobles. 

In  effect,  the  most  perfect  tranquillity  prevailed  through- 
out the  country  during  the  king's  absence.  This  period  was 
for  Presbyterianism  the  most  happy  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
On  his  return,  James,  delighted  with  the  services  rendered 
to  him  by  the  Presbyterian  ministers,  called  a  General  As- 
sembly in  August  1590,  and,  whether  moved  by  dissimula- 
tion, or  by  a  transient  fit  of  enthusiasm,  there  pronounced 
that  eulogium  on  the  Church  of  Scotland,  which  afterwards 
became  so  famous : — "  I  thank  God  that  I  was  born  in  such 
a  time  as  the  time  of  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  to  such  a  place 
as  to  be  king  in  such  a  kirk,  the  sincerest  kirk  in  the  world. 
The  kirk  of  Geneva,"  continued  he,  (he  alluded  to  it  as 
being  the  most  illustrious,  and,  with  Scotland,  the  purest,) 
"  the  kirk  of  Geneva  keepeth  Pasch  and  Yule."  (In  Scot- 
land they  keep  no  festivals ;  they  regard  them  as  remnants 
of  the  Romish  church,  and  they  will  keep  nothing  but  the 
Sabbath  as  instituted  in  the  Word  of  God.)  "  What  have 


196  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

they  for  them '?"  resumed  James ;  "  they  have  no  institution. 
As  for  our  neighbor  kirk  in  England,  it  is  an  evil  said  mass 
in  English,  wanting  nothing  but  the  liftings.  I  charge  you, 
my  good  people,  ministers,  doctors,  elders,  nobles,  gentle- 
men, and  barons,  to  stand  to  your  purity,  and  to  exhort  the 
people  to  do  the  same ;  and  I,  forsooth,  so  long  as  I  brook 
my  life  and  crown,  shall  maintain  the  same  against  all  deadly 
enemies." 

James  forgot  these  words  but  too  soon.  In  the  mean- 
time, however,  they  produced  their  effect,  and  in  1592,  the 
parliament  passed  a  bill  abolishing  all  "  acts  contrary  to  the 
true  religion,"  which  has  ever  since  been  regarded  as  the 
great  charter  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

On  the  one  hand,  this  act  of  1592  ratifies  and  approves 
the  General  Assemblies,  as  instituted  by  the  church,  with 
the  Synods  and  Presbyteries  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  whole  sys- 
tem established  by  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  declares  the  Black  Acts  to  be  "  ex- 
pired, null,  and  of  none  avail ;"  and  most  specially  asserts 
that  "  they  shall  in  no  wise  be  prejudicial,  nor  derogate  any 
thing  to  the  privilege  that  God  hath  given  to  the  spiritual 
office-bearers  in  the  kirk,  concerning  heads  of  religion,  mat- 
ters of  heresy,  excommunication,  collation,  or  deprivation  of 
ministers,  or  any  such  like  essential  censures  specially  ground- 
ed and  having  warrant  of  the  Word  of  God."  Thus  did  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  lay  down  prin- 
ciples which  were  destined,  three  centuries  after,  to  meet 
with  such  warm  advocates. 


VI. 

TWO    KINGS   AND    TWO    KINGDOMS. 

THE  struggle  soon  commenced  anew.  Not  only  were  Jes- 
uits and  priests  wandering  over  Scotland,  threatening  evil 
both  to  church  and  state ;  not  only  was  it  asserted  that  a 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  197 

Spanish  fleet  was  coming  over  with  30,000  men,  who,  in  con- 
cert with  the  partisans  of  the  people  in  Scotland,  were  to 
suppress  Protestantism  ;  but  the  king  himself  was  beginning 
to  lean  towards  that  side.  Desirous  of  securing  his  succes- 
sion to  the  English  throne,  he  was  rapidly  declining  from 
Presbyterianism,  which  he  knew  to  be  distasteful  beyond  the 
Tweed  ;  and,  being  aware  that  in  the  states  of  Elizabeth 
there  existed  a  powerful  Catholic  party,  he  even  attempted 
to  conciliate  them.  Those  Scottish  lords,  therefore,  who 
were  inclined  to  that  cause  returned  home,  and  the  govern- 
ment was  intrusted  by  the  king  to  eight  councillors,  called 
Octavians,  from  their  number,  the  majority  of  whom  were 
Roman  Catholics,  either  avowedly  or  disguised,  and  whose 
actions  soon  justified  all  the  fears  of  the  reformers.  Could 
the  church  in  Scotland  resist  an  attack  in  which  so  many  in- 
imical parties  were  combined  ? 

The  Commissioners  of  the  General  Assembly  resolved  to 
send  a  deputation  to  the  king,  to  avert  the  evils  with  which 
their  country  was  threatened  ;  and  they  appointed,  as  their 
speaker,  James  Melville,  Andrew's  nephew,  on  account  of  his 
courteous  manners,  and  because  he  Was  in  favor  with  the 
sovereign.  But  hardly  had  he  begun  his  address,  when  the 
king  sharply  interrupted  him,  and  accused  the  Presbyterian 
ministers  of  sedition.  James  Melville  was  about  to  reply  in 
a  most  submissive  manner,  when  his  uncle,  seeing  that  now 
or  never  was  the  time  to  state  broadly  the  great  principles 
of  the  church,  quitted  the  subordinate  position  which  he  had 
then  taken,  and  coming  forward  addressed  the  king.  The 
monarch  ordered  him  to  be  silent ;  but  Andrew,  taking  him 
by  the  sleeve,  forced  him  to  listen  to  these  words,  which 
must  have  rung  strangely  in  James's  ears  :  "  Sir,  there  are 
two  kings  and  two  kingdoms  in  Scotland :  there  is  Christ 
Jesus,  and  his  kingdom,  the  kirk,  whose  subject  King  James 
the  Sixth  is,  and  of  whose  kingdom  not  a  king,  nor  a  head, 
nor  a  lord,  but  a  member.  And  they  whom  Christ  has  called 
and  commanded  to  watch  over  his  kirk,  and  govern  his  spir- 


198  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

itual  kingdom,  have  sufficient  power  from  him,  and  author- 
ity so  to  do,  both  together  and  severally,  the  which  no 
Christian  king  or  prince  should  control  and  discharge,  but 
fortify  and  assist.  We  will  yield  to  you  your  place,  and  give 
all  due  obedience  ;  but  again,  I  say,  you  are  not  the  head  of  the 
church ;  you  cannot  give  us  eternal  life,  and  you  cannot  de- 
prive us  of  it.  If  ye  seek  both  kingdoms,  ye  shall  lose  both  ; 
whereas,  in  cleaving  uprightly  to  God,  his  true  servants 
should  be  your  friends,  and  he  would  compel  the  rest  to  give 
over  themselves  and  serve  you." 

Thus  spoke  Andrew  Melville.  He  had  boldly  asserted 
those  principles  of  the  liberty  of  the  church,  which  are  the 
surest  guarantees  of  civil  freedom.  The  king  uttered  no 
word  of  anger,  he  contested  not  what  he  had  just  heard, 
and  even  promised  what  was  demanded  of  him.  This  was 
in  1596. 

But  this  calm  was  merely  apparent,  and  bel  ind  it  a  terri- 
ble storm  was  gathering.  A  church  and  a  state,  whose  prin- 
ciples were  so  opposite,  and  which  were,  nevertheless, 
united,  could  only  experience  fearful  convulsions.  It  was 
a  dangerous  situation  both  for  the  prince  and  the  ministry. 
Doubtless,  the  principles  maintained  by  Melville  in  his  ad- 
dress to  the  king,  were  founded  on  truth  itself;  doubtless, 
he  spoke  out  with  a  Christian  courage  which  deserves  the 
admiration  of  posterity.  Yet  the  manner  in  which  Melville 
apostrophized  the  prince,  "  God's  silly  vassal,"  is  in  contra- 
diction to  this  Scripture  principle,  "  Honor  the  king."  Our 
attachment  to  the  independence  of  the  church  must  not 
cause  us  to  overlook  the  faults  of  those  who  were  then  main- 
taining it. 

James  was  silent,  but  vengeance  lurked  within  his  heart ; 
and  we  shall  soon  see  how  the  torrent  of  his  anger,  for  a 
moment  pent  up,  violently  burst  forth  and  spread  ruin  and 
desolation  over  the  whole  Church  of  Scotland. 

The  sixteenth  century  closed.     I  now  stop. 

I  have  but  one  word  to  add.     Those  men  were  strong, 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  199 

that  church  was  strong.  In  our  days  it  is  easier  to  find  weak 
men,  and  a  Aveak  church.  Does  the  sight  of  such  strength 
terrify  us?  It  is,  indeed,  an  alarming  thing,  if  courage  in- 
timidates, and  if  strength  overawes  us.  If  I  desire  strength 
within  a  church,  it  is  not  so  much  in  its  conflicts  with  the 
powers  of  the  world.  Doubtless,  wherever  this  conflict  may 
arise,  Christ  demands  of  his  people  the  same  courage.  But 
the  great  principle  of  the  independence  of  the  two  powers, 
becoming  more  and  more  triumphant  in  Christendom,  seems 
to  insure  to  the  people  a  peace  which,  in  that  respect,  has 
often  been  disturbed :  we  know  something  of  this  in  Swit- 
zerland and  in  Geneva.  But  if  the  church  carefully  with- 
draws herself  from  all  collision  with  the  state,  has  she, 
therefore,  no  need  of  energy  ?  Should  she  be  strong  in  war 
alone,  and  not  be  strong  in  peace  ?  Did  not  her  Head  give 
her  this  command  :  "  Preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature  ?" 
Is  the  world  converted  to  Christ  ?  Does  our  King  possess 
the  gates  of  the  Gentiles  ?  Not  so,  and  yet  there  are  Chris- 
tians who  are  slumbering.  Oh  !  could  we  but  cease  to  be 
feeble  men,  we,  the  subjects  of  the  mighty  God !  May  the 
love  of  Christ  and  of  his  church  be  again  kindled  "within  our 
souls,  as  in  the  days  of  Melville  and  of  Knox,  so  that  this 
saying  of  our  Head  may  be  fulfilled  :  "  The  kingdom  of 
heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by  force." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SCOTTISH  STRUGGLES. 
SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.   PRELACY  OF  LAUD. 

First  Period.     1600  to  1660. 

1.  Utility  of  History.  Maxim  of  James.  Basilicon  Doron.  King- 
cjaft.  General  Assembly  gained  over.  Representation  in  Parlia- 
ment. Northern  Legion.  The  king  prevails.  James,  King  of  Eng- 
land. Assembly  of  Aberdeen.  Persecution. — 2.  Welsh,  Minister  of 
Ayr.  Six  Ministers  before  the  Jury.  Welsh's  Speech.  Letter  to 
Lilias  Graham.  The  parting  at  Leith.  Welsh  in  France.  Acts  of 
1610  and  1612.  The  Five  Articles  of  Perth.  Welsh  and  Louis  XIII. 
Mrs.  Welsh  and  King  James. — 3.  Charles  I.  Arminianism  and  Im- 
morality in  Scotland.  Prelacy  of  Laud.  The  Canons.  The  Two 
Parties.  The  Inquisition.  Rutherford  in  Prison.  The  Service  Book 
brought  into  Edinburgh.— 4.  23rd  July,  1637.  The  Service  Book  in- 
terrupted. Interdict.  Agitation.  Orders  of  the  King.  Complaint 
against  Bishops.  Fast.  28th  February,  1658.  The  Covenant  signed. 
Livingstone.  The  Highlands.  Grutli.— 5.  Hamilton.  General  As- 
sembly called.  The  Bishops  accused.  The  Lord  High  Commissioner 
withdraws.  Firmness  of  the  Assembly.  Second  Reformation.  The 
Covenanters. — 6.  Westminster  Assembly.  Election  of  Pastors.  Ab- 
olition of  Patronage.  Charles  II.  called.  Ireland  and  Scotland. 
Resolutionists  and  Protesters.  Ten  Years  of  Peace.  Spiritual  War- 
fare. 

I. 
KING-CRAFT. 

"TAKE  heed  how  ye  hear."  There  are  some  who  will 
hear  nothing  but  histories,  and  there  are  others  who  will 
hear  nothing  but  sermons.  Some  there  are  whom  history 
shocks  and  scandalizes  ;  there  are  others  whom  sermons 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  201 

fatigue  and  weary.  To  both  of  these  the  Word  of  God 
says,  "  Take  heed  how  ye  hear."  If  you  will  not  listen  to 
the  instructions  of  history,  you  make  yourselves  to  be  wiser 
than  God.  Open  your  Bible.  What  do  you  find  there  ? 
In  what  manner  has  it  specially  pleased  God  to  instruct 
mankind  and  the  church  ?  Not  entirely  by  sermons,  but  very 
frequently  by  histories.  History  forms  a  great  portion  both 
of  the  Old  and  of  the  New  Testament.  Nay,  more ;  though, 
doubtless,  there  are  discourses  in  the  Bible,  yet  these  very 
discourses  are  often  entirely  historical.  Take  that  of  St. 
Stephen,  for  instance ;  take  many  of  St.  Paul's.  And  when 
Paul,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  would  quicken  the  faith 
of  those  whom  he  addresses,  he  has  recourse  to  history,  and 
brings  successively  before  their  eyes  those  "  elders "  who 
form  a  "great  cloud,"  and  who  by  faith  " obtained  a  good 
report."  We  have  not  to  present  to  you  such  accounts  as 
St.  Paul ;  nevertheless,  may  the  example  of  those  "  who'  by 
faith  subdued  kingdoms  and  Avrought  righteousness,"  con- 
firm our  hearts  in  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"  No  bishop,  no  king."  This  favorite  maxim  of  King 
James  certainly  did  not  mean,  that  without  a  bishop  the  po- 
litical power  of  kings  could  not  subsist :  he  had  not  forgot- 
ten that  his  political  power  had  never  been  more  respected 
than  under  the  influence  of  Presbyterianism.  But  he  de- 
sired to  be  king  in  the  church  as  well  as  in  the  state,  and 
thought  that  bishops  would  be  necessary  for  such  an  end. 
He  was  willing  to  bestow  upon  them  wealth  and  honors ; 
but  in  return  they  must  acknowledge  his  spiritual  juris- 
diction. 

We  do  not  agree  with  King  James  in  this  opinion ;  we  do 
not  see  that  subjection  to  civil  power  should  be  essential  to 
the  episcopal  system.  This  would  be  doing  it  a  great  injus- 
tice, and  besides,  the  episcopal  church  of  America  proves 
the  contrary. 

King  James  set  forth  his  system  in  a  book  which  he  pub- 
lished at  that  time,  entitled  "  Basilicon  Doron,  Royal  Gift, 

9* 


202  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

or  Instructions  of  a  King  to  his  Son."  The  royal  author 
maintains  in  this  work,  "  that  the  office  of  a  king  is  of  a 
mixed  kind,  partly  civil  and  partly  ecclesiastical ;  that  a 
principal  part  of  his  function  consists  in  ruling  the  church ; 
that  it  belongs  to  him  to  judge  when  preachers  wander  from 
their  text,  and  that  such  as  refuse  to  submit  to  his  judgment 
in  such  cases  ought  to  be  capitally  punished ;  that  no  eccle- 
siastical assemblies  ought  to  be  held  without  his  consent ; 
that  no  man  is  more  to  be  hated  of  a  king  than  a  proud  pu- 
ritan ;  that  parity  among  ministers  is  irreconcilable  with 
monarchy,  inimical  to  order,  and  the  mother  of  confusion ; 
that  episcopacy  should  be  set  up,  and  all  who  preached 
against  bishops  rigorously  punished." 

Suchlwas  King  James's  theory  :  he  immediately  set  about 
reducing  it  to  practice :  and  not  being  able  to  succeed  in 
this  by  force,  he  had  recourse  to  what  he  himself  called 
"  king-craft." 

The  ministers  of  Edinburgh  having  been  banished,  or 
obliged  to  conceal  themselves,  James  endeavored  to  obtain  a 
General  Assembly,  the  majority  of  which  should  be  weak 
and  unprincipled  men.  One  of  his  chamberlains,  Sir  Patrick 
Murray,  travelled  for  this  purpose  over  the  northern  parts 
of  the  kingdom.  The  king  succeeded,  and  fifty-five  ques- 
tions upon  church  government  having  been  proposed  to  the 
Assembly,  were  taken  into  consideration. 

He  then  advanced  another  step,  and  requested  the  As- 
sembly to  appoint  a  committee  of  fourteen  of  its  members, 
who  should  be  empowered  to  advise  with  him  upon  such 
questions  as  might  arise :  this  they  granted.  James  then 
induced  the  ecclesiastical  council  to  present  a  petition  to 
Parliament,  demanding  that  the  church  should  have  a  voice 
in  the  supreme  council  of  the  nation.  The  Parliament  ac- 
ceded to  this,  and  declared  that  the  prelates  formed  the 
Third  Estate  of  the  kingdom. 

It  was  now  necessary  to  persuade  the  General  Assembly 
to  accept  this  apparent  favor. 


SCOTTISH   STRUGGLES.  203 

Every  thing  was  set  to  work  for  that  purpose.  The  eccle- 
siastical committee  wrote  a  circular  to  all  the  ministers,  in 
which  they  were  told,  that  this  representation  of  the  church 
in  Parliament  was  the  only  means  of  obtaining  from  the 
state  permanent  stipends  for  the  ministry.  A  share  in  the 
budget — was  the  bait  presented  to  the  church,  to  induce 
her  to  sacrifice  her  independence. 

Another  Assembly  was  convened.  The  "  Northern  Legion," 
that  of  Aberdeen,  was  again  recruited,  and  every  means  was 
adopted  to  bring  in,  as  elders,  the  nobles  who  had  already 
voted  in  Parliament  for  the  measure  ;  and  the  king  in  open- 
ing the  Assembly  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  declared  that 
he  did  not  intend  to  introduce  Popish  or  Anglican  bishops. 
The  debates  were  long  and  animated.  The  most  pious  and 
able  ministers  rejected  those  expectations  of  wealth,  honor, 
and  power,  which  were  coveted  by  the  worldly.  Neverthe- 
less, the  motion  was  adopted  in  a  general  form  by  a  majority 
of  ten,  but  the  execution  of  it  was  referred  to  another  As- 
sembly. All,  therefore,  was  not  definitively  settled. 

The  king,  determined  to  obtain  his  ends,  declared  that  he 
would  allow  the  ministers  to  die  in  poverty,  if  his  wishes 
were  not  complied  with ;  and  that  he  would  establish  bish- 
ops by  his  own  authority.  On  the  20th  of  March,  1600,  a 
General  Assembly  met  at  Montrose.  James  redoubled  his 
endeavors,  and  he  succeeded.  It  was,  however,  decided  that 
the  representatives  of  the  Assembly  in  Parliament  should  not 
be  called  bishops,  but  commissioners  of  the  church  ;  that  they 
should  not  propose  any  thing  to  Parliament  without  the  war- 
rant of  the  General  Assembly;  that  they  should  give  an 
account  to  it,  and  submit  to  its  censure  under  pain  of  excom- 
munication. But  all  this  was  only  king-craft.  That  same 
year  the  king  nominated  three  bishops  to  the  sees  of  Ross, 
Caithness,  and  Aberdeen. 

In  1603,  Elizabeth  of  England  dying,  James  VI.  of  Scot- 
land was  proclaimed  king  of  England,  by  the  title  of  James  I., 


204  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

and  the  Presbyterian  church  had,  thenceforward,  to  antici- 
pate a  long  period  of  mourning. 

In  1605  the  General  Assembly  was  appointed  to  meet. 
Several  Presbyteries  had  already  elected  their  representa- 
tives ;  and  nine  of  them,  feeling  convinced  that,  as  the  bar- 
riers of  ecclesiastical  discipline  were  thrown  down,  corruption 
of  doctrine  would  shortly  invade  the  church,  sent  their  depu- 
ties to  Aberdeen,  with  instructions  to  constitute  the  Assem- 
bly, and  then  to  adjourn  until  the  king  should  authorize  their 
deliberations.  But  hardly  had  the  Assembly  met  when  a 
messenger-at-arms  entered,  and  charged  them,  in  the  king's 
name,  to  dissolve  on  paia  of  rebellion.  The  Assembly  de- 
clared themselves  ready  to  obey  this  order,  and  requested 
the  royal  commissioner,  according  to  established  custom,  to 
name  a  day  and  place  for  their  next  meeting  to  be  held.  The 
commissioner  refusing  to  do  so,  the  moderator  appointed  the 
last  Tuesday  of  September,  and  closed  the  Assembly  with 
prayer. 

The  king's  anger  on  learning  these  proceedings  knew  no 
bounds.  He  sent  to  Scotland  an  order  to  proceed  with  the 
utmost  rigor  against  those  ministers  who  had  dared  to  diso- 
bey him ;  and  fourteen  of  the  most  eminent,  among  whom 
was  John  Welsh,  the  son-in-law  of  Knox,  were  thrown  into 
prison. 


II. 


A    FREE    MINISTER    AND    A    SERVILE    CHURCH. 

WELSH  was  minister  at  Ayr,  to  which  place  he  had  been 
called  in  1590.  The  population  of  the  town  were  then  so 
degraded,  that  the  inhabitants  were  often  seen  fighting  in 
the  streets.  But  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  soon  transformed  his 
flock.  Welsh  spent  whole  days  praying  in  the  Church  of 
Ayr  for  his  parishioners,  wrestling  alone  with  God.  His 
plaid  lay  always  by  his  bedside,  and  often  in  the  middle  of 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  205 

the  night  he  would  rise,  wrap  himself  in  this  garment,  and 
pour  forth  his  soul  before  his  Master.  "  I  wonder,"  he  used 
to  say,  "  how  a  Christian  can  lie  in  bed  all  night  and  not  rise 
to  pray."  He  generally  devoted  eight  hours  a  day  to  calling 
upon  the  Lord.  To  prayer  he  added  activity.  Often  during 
the  first  years  of  his  ministry,  when  sticks  and  stones  were 
flying  about  the  streets  of  Ayr,  he  would  cover  his  head  with 
a  helmet  -to  defend  himself  from  their  blows,  and  throw  him- 
self among  these  poor  people  to  separate  them.  Welsh  ex- 
perienced the  truth  of  the  promise,  "  Blessed  are  the  peace- 
makers, for  they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God."  The 
wolves  were  changed  into  lambs,  and  many  of  his  flock  soon 
exhibited  as  much  piety  and  devotedness  as  himself. 

Six  of  the  ministers  who  had  been  sent  to  prison,  among 
whom  was  Welsh,  were  brought  before  the  Criminal  Court 
at  Linlithgow,  as  guilty  of  High  Treason.  Here  these  gen- 
erous Christians  boldly  confessed  before  the  jury  the  great 
principles  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, — the  spiritual  indepen- 
dence of  the  Lord's  Church.  "  As  for  this  matter  whereof 
we  are  now  accused,"  said  Welsh,  "and  of  which  ye  are  to 
be  our  judges  this  day,  AVC  sgeak  unto  you  the  truth  in  the 
sight  of  our  God  ;  that  in  this  point  we  are  thoroughly  and 
fully  resolved,  that  it  is  the  undoubted  truth  of  God,  and 
that  it  belongs  to  the  crown  and  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  we  are  ready  (if  so  the  Lord  shall  call  us  and  strengthen 
us)  to  seal  it  up  with  the  testimony  of  our  blood.  And  this 
our  resolution  is  neither  of  yesterday  nor  to-day  ;  for  the 
twenty-four  weeks  of  our  imprisonment  might  have  given  us 
sufficient  time  and  leisure  to  have  thought  of  its  weightiness 
and  gravity  ;  and  howsoever  many  think  it  but  a  thing  indif- 
ferent, yet  it  is  not  so  in  our  conscience,  but  a  main  and 
essential  point  of  Christ's  kingdom,  of  whose  royal  preroga- 
tives this  is  one  ;  that  He  should  be  only  Sovereign  Judge 
in  all  the  matters  belonging  to  his  kingdom,  and  that  in  and 
by  his  kirk.  For  as  we  have  our  callings  and  offices  of  Him 
only  by  the  kirk,  so  should  we  be  judged  in  all  the  duties 


206  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

of  our  office  only  by  Him  in  his  kirk.  And  seeing  parlia- 
ments, councils,  and  all  civil  judicatories  belong  only  to  the 
royal  crown  of  an  earthly  king,  even  so  all  the  meetings,  con- 
ventions, and  assemblies  of  the  kirk,  which  is  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  belong  essentially  to  his  royal  authority  and  to  his 
kingdom." 

Notwithstanding  this  spirited  defence,  the  six  ministers 
were  condemned  and  thrown  into  prison,  until  the  king 
should  pass  sentence  upon  them. 

John  Welsh  was  again  confined  in  the  dungeons  of  Black- 
ness castle.  We  are  acquainted  with  the  sentiments  of  this 
noble  confessor  of  Christ  while  in  his  prison :  he  stated  them 
in  a  letter  written  to  Lilias  Graham,  which  has  been  pre- 
served. "  Who  am  I,"  wrote  he  from  within  those  walls, 
"  that  He  should  first  have  so  called  me,  and  constituted  me 
a  minister  of  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel  of  salvation 
these  years  already ;  and  now,  last  of  all,  to  be  a  sufferer  for 
his  cause  and  kingdom  ?  Now,  let  it  be  so,  that  I  have 
fought  my  fight,  and  run  my  race,  and  now  from  henceforth 
is  laid  up  for  me  that  crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord, 
the  righteous  judge,  will  give,  and  not  to  me  only,  but  to  all 
that  love  his  appearance,  and  are  chosen  to  witness  this,  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  King  of  Saints,  and  that  his  church  is  a 
most  free  kingdom,  yea,  as  free  as  any  kingdom  under  heav- 
en. We  have  been  ever  waiting  with  joyfulness  to  give 
the  last  testimony  of  our  blood  in  confirmation  thereof,  if  it 
should  please  our  God  to  be  so  favorable  as  to  honor  us  with 
that  dignity ;  and  it  would  be  the  most  glorious  day  and 
gladdest  hour  I  ever  saw.  in  this  life." 

Such,  in  the  prison  of  Blackness,  were  the  sentiments  of 
this  servant  of  God.  It  was  generally  expected  that  Welsh 
and  his  friends  would  be  condemned  to  death  ;  but  the  peo- 
ple were  so  earnest  in  their  favor,  that  James  judged  it  most 
prudent  to  sentence  them  to  banishment  only. 

At  midnight,  on  the  7th  of  November,  the  dungeons  in 
which  Welsh  and  his  five  colleagues  were  confined,  were 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  207 

thrown  open ;  guards  with  lighted  torches  surrounded  them, 
and  led  them  quickly  from  their  prison  to  the  sea-side.  It 
was  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  the  scene  then  presented 
on  the  shore  of  Leith  was  still  more  overpowering  than  that 
which  is  recorded  in  the  21st  chapter  of  the  Acts,  when 
Paul,  repairing  to  Jerusalem,  was  accompanied  to  the  ship 
by  the  Christians  of  Tyre,  with  their  wives  and  children,  and 
all  were  kneeling  on  the  ground. 

Notwithstanding  the  hour  of  the  night,  which  had  been 
purposely  chosen  for  the  prisoners  to  embark,  a  great  multi- 
tude had  suddenly  gathered  on  the  shore,  to  bid  them  a  last 
farewell.  Welsh  uttered  an  affectionate  prayer,  and  the  whole 
assembly,  lighted  by  a  few  nickering  torches  on  the  sea-side, 
sang  the  23d  Psalm,  "  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,  I  shall  not 
want."  The  exiles  then  left  the  soil  of  Scotland,  accompa- 
nied by  the  tears  and  the  prayers  of  their  brethren. 

Welsh,  as  we  know,  came  to  France,  where  three  months 
after  his  arrival  he  began  to  preach  in  French.  He  was  at 
first  pastor  at  Nerac,  afterwards  at  St.  Jean  d'Angely. 
These  churches  have  preserved  affecting  recollections  of  his 
residence  there.  They  still  remember  how  he  acted  and 
spoke  in  the  presence  of  Louis  XIII.,  with  the  same  courage 
which  had  inspired  him  before  the  agents  of  James  I.  His 
midnight  prayers,  during  his  abode  in  Saintonge,  and  the 
wonderful  effects  they  produced,  are  among  the  most  inter- 
esting reminiscences  of  French  Protestantism. 

The  firmest  men  being  now  removed,  James  advanced 
rapidly  in  the  establishment  of  Prelacy.  The  bishops  were 
appointed  constant  Moderators  of  the  Synods  and  Presbyte- 
ries ;  Parliament  empowered  them  to  modify  the  stipends 
of  the  ministers,  and  two  Courts  of  High  Commission  were 
created,  by  means  of  which  the  king  exercised  an  absolute 
power  in  the  church. 

A  servile  Assembly,  held  at  Glasgow  in  1610,  delivered 
up  the  church  to  the  king  and  the  bishops ;  and  the  Parlia- 
ment in  1612,  when  ratifying  its  acts,  declared  that  the  king 


208  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

was  the  only  lawful  supreme  governor  of  the  realm,  "as 
well  in  matters  spiritual  and  ecclesiastical,  as  in  things  tem- 
poral." 

This  act  of  parliament  also  established,  that  in  case  a  min- 
ister presented  by  the  patron  should  be  refused  by  the  eccle- 
siastical authority,  without  sufficient  reason,  the  lords  of  the 
session  and  council,  upon  a  complaint  being  made  to  them, 
should  oblige  the  ecclesiastical  authority  to  admit  the  minis- 
ter presented  by  the  patron.  This  is  the  same  right  which 
has  lately  been  claimed  by  the  civil  courts,  only  that  the 
civil  power  in  our  day  has  gone  farther  than  in  the  time  of 
King  James  ;  since  this  act  of  1612  respected  ministers  al- 
ready in  office,  while,  in  our  times,  the  state  seeks  to  oblige 
the  church  to  admit  mere  licentiates,  or  probationers.  How- 
ever, the  act  of  1612  was  itself  abolished  afterwards  by  the 
Revolution  settlement. 

A  General  Assembly,  which  met  at  Perth  in  1618,  sur- 
rounded with  armed  men,  and  threatened  with  the  king's 
anger,  accepted  in  alarm  and  terror  the  Five  Articles  of 
Perth ;  which  established,  among  other  things,  Episcopal 
confirmation,  and  the  obligation  of  kneeling  at  the  Commun- 
ion, a  practice  which  the  Scotch  held  in  the  greatest  horror, 
regarding  it  as  worship  paid  to  the  Host.  These  Five  Arti- 
cles received  the  sanction  of  Parliament  on  the  4th  of  Au- 
gust, 1621,  a  day  known  in  the  history  of  Scotland  by  the 
name  of  Black  Saturday. 

It  was  three  or  four  years  after  this  that  John  Welsh,  who 
had  passed  fourteen  years  in  exile,  returned  to  England.  His 
residence  in  France  proves  to  us  that  it  is  no  new  thing  for 
the  Church  of  Scotland  to  take  a  share  in  the  evangelization 
of  the  Continent.  Welsh  was  the  pastor  of  St.  Jean  d'An- 
gely,  when  Louis  XIII.,  making  war  against  the  Protestants, 
besieged  that  town  in  person.  He  encouraged  the  inhabi- 
tants in  their  defence,  till  the  king  consented  to  leave  them 
their  privileges,  and  merely  demanded  to  enter  the  city  in  a 
friendly  manner.  The  Scottish  minister  continued  to  preach, 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  209 

which  so  irritated  the  king,  that  the  Duke  d'Epernon  was 
ordered  to  drag  the  bold  minister  from  the  pulpit,  and  bring 
him  before  Louis.  The  duke  having  entered  the  church,  fol- 
lowed by  the  guards,  Welsh  desired  room  to  be  made,  and 
invited  that  nobleman  to  sit  down  and  hear  the  Word  of  the 
Lord.  The  duke  took  a  seat,  and,  when  the  sermon  was  fin- 
ished, ordered  Welsh  to  follow  him.  "How  dare  you," 
asked  the  king,  "  preach  in  this  place,  since  it  is  against  the 
laws  of  the  kingdom  to  deliver  sermons  where  I  hold  my 
court?"  "Sire,"  replied  Welsh,  "if  you  did  right,  you 
would  come  and  hear  me  preach,  and  make  all  France  hear 
me  likewise :  for  I  preach,  that  you  must  be  saved  by  the 
death  and  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  not  by  your  own ;  and 
I  declare,  that  as  you  are  King  of  France,  you  are  under  the 
authority  of  no  man  upon  earth.  Those  priests  whom  you 
hear,"  continued  the  Scotchman,  "subject  you  to  the  Pope 
of  Rome,  which  I  will  never  do."  "  Well,  well,"  said  the 
king,  smiling,  "you  shall  be  my  minister ;"  and  dismissed 
him  graciously. 

In  1621,  the  Avar  being  renewed,  the  king  took  the  town, 
and  ordered  the  captain  of  his  guard  to  enter  and  preserve 
his  minister  from  all  danger.  Welsh  was  sent  to  Rochelle 
with  his  family.  His  French  flock  being  thus  dispersed,  and 
his  own  health  much  weakened,  he  was  advised  to  return  to 
breathe  his  native  air.  He  arrived  in  London,  but  notwith- 
standing the  declarations  of  the  physicians,  King  James  would 
never  allow  him  to  return  to  Scotland.  "  If  he  were  there," 
said  he,  "  I  could  never  establish  Episcopacy." 

Mrs.  Welsh  obtained  an  audience  of  the  king,  and  en- 
treated him  to  save  her  husband's  life,  by  granting  him  per- 
mission to  return  to  his  country.  "  Who  was  your  father  ?" 
asked  the  king.  "  Mr.  Knox,"  replied  she. — "  Knox  and 
Welsh  !"  exclaimed  the  king  ;  "  the  devil  never  made  such  a 
match  as  that !" — "  It's  right  like,  sir,"  she  answered  ;  "  for 
we  never  asked  his  advice." 

The  daughter  of  Knox,  again  urging  her  request  that  her 


210  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

dying  husband  might  once  more  breathe  his  native  air,  the 
king  told  her  he  would  grant  it  only  on  condition  that  she 
should  persuade  Welsh  to  submit  to  the  bishops.  "  Please 
your  Majesty,"  replied  this  heroic  woman,  taking  up  her 
apron  by  the  corners,  and  holding  it  out  as  if  to  receive  the 
head  of  her  husband,  "  I  would  rather  kep  (receive)  his  head 
there."  James  would  not  even  allow  Welsh  to  preach  in 
London  until  he  learned  that  he  was  at  the  point  of  death, 
and  then  consented  in  unfeeling  mockery.  Welsh  hastened 
to  embrace  this  opportunity  of  once  more  proclaiming  the 
good  tidings  of  salvation.  He  preached  with  great  fervor, 
and  two  hours  after  he  entered  into  his  everlasting  rest. 


III. 

THE    KING'S    CANOXS    AND    THE    IMPRISONED    MINISTERS. 

ON  the  27th  March,  1625,  King  James  died,  and  his  son, 
Charles  L,  who  inherited  his  despotic  temper,  but  was  en- 
dowed with  more  firmness,  had  soon  recourse  to  measures 
destined  to  awaken  the  whole  nation  to  energetic  resistance. 

These  encroachments  of  power  were  becoming  more  and 
more  easy.  Orthodox  Christians,  in  general,  show  them- 
selves jealous  of  the  independence  of  the  church ;  while,  on 
the  contrary,  Arminians,  Arians,  and  Socinians,  think  too 
cheaply  of  it.  Truth,  in  Scotland,  now  fell,  and  with  it  lib- 
erty fell  also.  The  young  Scottish  bishops,  and  all  that  was 
worldly  in  the  church,  zealously  embraced  Arminian  errors. 
Christ  being  lowered  as  a  King,  he  must  also  be  lowered  as 
a  Priest  and  as  a  Prophet.  Moreover,  morality  was  declin- 
ing, and  dissipation,  profanation  of  the  Lord's  Day,  vice  and 
profligacy,  increased  rapidly. 

The  moment  had  now  arrived  for  striking  a  decisive  blow. 
Charles  I.,  the  grandson  of  Mary  Stuart,  a  descendant  of  the 
Guises,  visited  Scotland  in  1633,  resolved  upon  the  defini- 
tive establishment  of  Prelacy,  which,  if  not  under  this  prince, 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  211 

at  least  under  his  son,  would,  without  a  Providential  inter- 
vention, have  brought  about  the  re-establishment  of  Popery. 
It  was  not — mark  this  well — it  was  not  pure  Episcopacy,  the 
evangelical  Episcopacy  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  that  he 
desired  to  establish  in  Scotland ;  it  was  the  semi-popish  Pre- 
lacy of  Laud,  which  has  always  been  as  much  opposed  to 
the  Episcopacy  of  Latimer  and  Cranmer,  as  to  the  Presbyte- 
rianism  of  Melville  and  Knox. 

Charles  I.  appointed  a  bishop  of  Edinburg ;  he  then  pub- 
lished, by  letters  patent,  on  the  23d  of  May,  1635,  a  book 
called  "  The  Book  of  Canons,"  which  had  been  submitted 
to  the  approbation  of  the  Archbishop  Laud,  and  which  was 
intended  to  serve  for  the  government  of  the  church.  The 
first  of  these  canons  pronounced  excommunication  against 
all  who  should  deny  the  king's  supremacy  in  ecclesiastical 
matters.  Tt  was  also  decreed,  that  General  Assemblies 
should  be  called  only  by  the  king's  authority  ;  that  no  eccle- 
siastical business  should  be  discussed,  except  in  the  bishops' 
.courts ;  that  no  private  meeting  or  conventicle  should  be 
held  ;  and  that  no  minister  in  public  should  use  extempo- 
rary prayer.  On  hearing  these  canons,  the  people  of  Scot- 
land were  filled  with  horror,  and  all  recognized  in  them  a 
stepping-stone  to  Popery. 

Every  thing  was  marching  towards  it.  The  two  parties 
silently  prepared  for  the  conflict.  The  prelates,  leaning 
more  and  more  upon  the  political  power  of  the  state,  estab- 
lished themselves  in  the  Privy  Council,  the  Exchequer,  and 
the  Courts  of  Justice ;  while  the  Christians  sought  strength 
in  the  Word  of  God  and  in  fervent  prayer.  Their  preachers 
have  been  accused  of  turning  the  pulpit  into  a  mere  political 
tribune ;  but  their  writings  still  exist,  and  in  them  we  find 
the  purest  piety. 

Many  of  them  had  soon  to  bear  their  Master's  cross. 
Each  of  the  bishops,  within  his  own  diocese,  held  Church 
Courts,  before  which  they  cited  whomsoever  they  pleased. 
"These  courts,"  says  Bishop  Burnet,  "differed  little  from 


212  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

the  Inquisition."  Among  the  pious  men  whom  they  at- 
tacked, was  Samuel  Rutherford,  minister  of  Anwoth.  Ris- 
ing commonly  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Rutherford 
spent  the  whole  day  in  reading  the  Word,  in  prayer,  study, 
writing,  and  visiting  his  flock.  Some  of  his  compositions 
were  so  powerful  that  the  Bishop  of  Galloway,  in  1630, 
summoned  him  before  the  Court  of  High  Commission,  and 
afterwards  caused  him  to  be  imprisoned  at  Aberdeen. 
Such  was  his  love  for  his  flock,  that  often  when  walking 
about  his  prison  chamber,  and  standing  before  the  bars  of 
his  window,  Rutherford  envied  the  lot  of  the  swallows,  free 
to  fly  to  the  church  of  Anwoth.  But  bis  heart  was  still 
fuller  of  the  love  of  Christ ;  and  thus  his  prison  soon  became 
to  him  a  palace.  The  Lord  hid  him  in  his  pavilion  in  the 
time  of  trouble,  and  lifted  up  his  head  above  his  enemies. 
(Ps.  xxvii.  5,  6.)  Often,  during  his  slumbers,  his  wondering 
keepers  heard  him  speaking  to  the  Lord.  "  I  know  no 
sweeter  way  to  Heaven,"  said  he  to  one  of  his  friends, 
"  than  the  free  grace  of  Christ,  and  the  hard  trials  of  the 
cross  put  together  in  the  same  life." 

Such  were  already  the  sufferings  of  Christ's  servants, 
when  a  letter  from  the  king,  and  an  act  of  the  Privy  Coun- 
cil, under  the  sanction  of  the  General  Assembly  and  the 
Parliament,  ordered  that  .1  Liturgy,  revised  by  Laud,  and 
modelled  by  him  after  the  Romish  Missal,  "  as  nearly,"  says 
Kirkton,  "  as  English  can  be  to  Latin,"  should  be  intro- 
duced into  the  churches  of  Edinburgh.  A  murmur  of  indig- 
nation arose  throughout  Scotland ;  dark  clouds  gathered 
over  that  ancient  country  ;  and  by  the  cries  that  were  heard 
from  the  hills  of  Caledonia  to  the  shores  of  the  sea,  it 
was  evident  that  a  fearful  storm  was  about  to  burst  forth. 
The  illegal  act  of  a  king,  who  claimed  to  command  at  his 
pleasure  in  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ,  was  about  to  be  an- 
swered by  the  spontaneous  resistance  of  a  whole  people.  I 
do  not  approve  of  the  manner  in  which  this  national  energy 
manifested  itself ;  but  as  for  the  resistance,  I  dare  not  con- 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  218 

demn  it.     It  may  find  its  warrant  in  the  charter  of  Heaven 
itself. 


IV. 


THE  COVENANT. 

ON  the  23d  of  July,  1637,  the  great  attempt  was  to  be 
made  at  Edinburgh  to  revolutionize  the  church  by  a  stroke 
of  state  policy.  Several  prelates  had  repaired  to  the  capital 
to  sanction  and  dignify  by  their  presence  the  introduction 
of  the  Missal  in  disguise.  An  immense  congregation  met  in 
the  cathedral  of  St.  Giles.  A  calm  and  deep  sadness,  min- 
gled with  indignation  and  vengeance,  rendered  this  a  solemn 
scene. 

The  dean  of  Edinburgh  was  to  strike  the  fatal  blow.  Ar- 
rayed in  his  white  surplice,  which  fell  in  graceful  folds  from 
his  shoulders  down  to  the  knees,  the  wide  sleeves  hanging 
loosely  behind,  the  priest  appeared,  went  up  into  the  pulpit, 
and  began  to  read  the  service  of  the  day  before  a  people  who 
could  scarcely  contain  their  feelings.  He  had  uttered  but  a 
few  words,  when,  suddenly,  an  old  woman,  Jenny  Geddes  by 
name,  rose  up,  exclaiming,  "  Villain  ! — dost  thou  say  mass 
at  my  lug  ?"  And  then,  remembering  perhaps  Him  who 
in  the  temple  overthrew  the  tables  of  the  money-chan- 
gers, and  poured  out  their  money  to  defend  His  Father's 
house  (John  ii.),  this  Presbyterian  Scotchwoman  seized  the 
stool  on  which  she  sat,  and  hurled  it,  with  the  energy  of  her 
nation,  at  the  Mass  Book  and  the  dean's  head. 

A  fierce  tumult  immediately  burst  out,  and  the  church 
became  one  scene  of  confusion.  Several  persons  rushed 
towards  the  reading  desk.  The  frightened  priest  escaped, 
leaving  his  sacerdotal  ornaments  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 
In  vain  did  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  himself  endeavor  to 
ascend  the  pulpit ;  the  magistrates  could  hardly  protect  him, 
and  it  required  great  exertions  to  save  the  other  prelates. 


214  HISTORICAL   RECOLLECTIONS. 

Such  was  the  fatal  storm  raised  by  the  illegal  intrusions  of  the 
state. 

Events  like  these  are  to  be  deplored,  and  many  writers, 
both  English  and  foreign,  have  taken  advantage  of  them  to 
attack  the  Church  of  Scotland  ;  but  it  must  not  be  overlooked 
that  every  system  runs  into  some  excesses,  and  if  the  Church 
of  Scotland  has  done  so  in  one  way,  that  of  England  has  in 
another.  This  reflection  ought  to  teach  toleration  to  the  wise 
of  all  parties.  If  the  scum  of  popular  passions  was  then 
thrown  up,  we  must  not  forget  that  it  was  the  mighty  hand 
of  God  which  caused  the  waters  of  the  deep  to  rise. 

The  astonished  and  alarmed  prelates  beheld  with  conster- 
nation this  impetous  outburst  of  popular  fury,  which,  over- 
flowing the  bounds  appointed  by  God,  had  even  invaded  the 
pulpit,  and  dashed  the  Liturgy  from  their  trembling  hands. 
It  was  the  women,  it  is  true,  who  had,  suddenly  opposed  so 
energetic  a  resistance  to  the  ministers  of*the  absolute  will  of 
Charles  I. ;  but  the  bishops  fancied  that  they  could  see  hid- 
den behind  their  caps  and  aprons  adversaries  still  more  terri- 
ble,— the  wrath  of  the  whole  nation.  Archbishop  Spottis- 
wood,  a  worthy  imitator  of  the  popes  of  the  middle  ages,  laid 
the  whole  town  under  an  interdict,  and  suspended  all  public 
worship  even  on  the  holy  day  of  Sunday.  This  was  like 
Boniface  VII.  excommunicating  Philip  the  Fair  and  the 
kingdom  of  France.  They  thought  it  better  that  the  people 
should  not  worship  God  at  all,  than  worship  him  without 
the  Missal ! 

The  news  of  what  had  taken  place  in  Edinburgh  spread 
instantly  all  over  the  kingdom,  and  was  everywhere  regarded 
as  the  trumpet-signal  which  called  upon  Presbyterian  Scot- 
land to  rise  in  defence  of  her  liberties.  The  ministers,  so 
long  oppressed  by  the  tyranny  of  the  court  and  of  the  pre- 
lates, as  they  saw  the  ardor  of  the  people  around  them, 
began  to  understand  that  the  days  of  their  servitude  were 
drawing  to  an  end.  The  Privy  Council  informed  the  king 
of  the  universal  discontent  caused  by  the  introduction  of  what 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  215 

was  called  the  Mass  Book,  and  pointed  out  to  him  the  dan- 
gers which  might  ensue,  if  he  persisted  in  that  imprudent 
course. 

But,  says  the  Hebrew  sage,  "  Better  is  a  poor  and  a  wise 
child,  than  an  old  and  foolish  king  who  will  no  more  be  ad- 
monished." (Ec.  iv.  13.)  Charles  replied  to  this  prudent 
advice  by  a  severe  letter,  blaming  the  Privy  Council  for  their 
weakness,  and  ordering  the  Liturgy  to  be  everywhere  intro- 
duced without  delay.  They  endeavored  to  submit.  There 
was  even  a  bishop  who,  in  order  to  obey  the  civil  power, 
shut  himself  up  in  his  church,  barricaded  the  doors  for  fear 
of  the  people,  and  there  read  his  Mass  Book  in  triumph — to 
himself.  This  was  quite  in  the  spirit  of  the  Romish  tradi- 
tion. Are  there  not  in  popery,  private  masses  at  which  the 
priest  officiates  alone  ? 

On  hearing  of  this  royal  order,  the  Presbyterians  flocked 
to  Edinburgh  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  whole  na- 
tion was  awakened  from  its  slumber  of  forty  years.  They 
presented  to  the  Privy  Council  a  formal  complaint  against 
the  bishops.  It  was  drawn  up  by  the  Earl  of  Loudon  and 
David  Dickson.  The  prelates  were  therein  accused  of  being 
the  causes  of  all  the  commotions  of  the  kingdom ;  and  the 
false  doctrines,  the  superstitions,  and  the  idolatry  to  be  found 
in  the  canons  were  pointed  out.  It  was  shown,  moreover, 
that  this  legislation  was  subversive  of  the  constitution  of  the 
church  ;  and  the  redress  of  these  grievances,  and  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  were 
earnestly  demanded. 

The  king  then  issued  a  proclamation,  in  which  he  declared 
that  "  the  bishops  were  unjustly  accused  as  being  the  au- 
thors of  the  Service  Book  and  Canons,  seeing  whatever  was 
done  by  them  in  that  matter,  was  by  his  Majesty's  authority 
and  order." 

The  Scottish  people  comprehended  the  serious  nature  of 
their  situation.  They  were  required  to  submit  to  the  arbi- 
trary power  of  the  state  in  religious  matters ;  to  bow  their 


216  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

heads  under  the  disgraceful  yoke  of  the  canons  and  the  pre- 
lates, or  to  make  an  open  resistance.  They  could  no  longer 
hesitate. 

But,  first  of  all,  they  remembered  that  the  Lord  had  said, 
"  If  my  people  shall  humble  themselves,  and  pray,  and  seek 
my  face,  and  turn  from  their  wicked  ways,  then  will  I  hear 
from  heaven,  and  will  forgive  their  sin,  and  will  heal  their 
land."  (2  Chron.  vii.  14.)  A  solemn  fast  was  proclaimed 
and  observed,  to  confess  the  sins  of  the  church.  And  then, 
gathering  into  one  document  the  Old  Covenant  of  1581, 
which  King  James  himself,  the  father  of  the  reigning  mon- 
arch, had  signed,  and  all  the  acts  condemnatory  of  Popery, 
with  an  addition  applying  them  to  the  present  circumstances, 
the  Scotch  laid  hold  of  these  legitimate  charters  of  their  na- 
tion, and  presented  them  before  Heaven. 

On  the  28th  February,  1638,  a  great  crowd  filled  the 
Grayfriars  Church  in  Edinburgh,  and  in  the  burial-ground 
60,000  Presbyterians  had  assembled.  Henderson,  the  min- 
ister, fervently  invoked  the  Divine  blessing  on  this  vast 
meeting,  and  the  Earl  of  Loudon  stated  the  motives  which 
had  brought  them  together.  Johnstone  unrolled  the  parch- 
ment, on  which  these  Scottish  charters  were  inscribed,  and 
read  them  in  a  clear,  calm  voice.  When  he  had  finished, 
there  was  a  deep  and  solemn  silence  :  a  few  explanations 
were  demanded  and  given  ;  then,  again,  all  was  still  as  the 
grave. 

But  the  silence  was  soon  broken.  An  aged  man  of  noble 
air  was  seen  advancing  ;  it  was  the  Earl  of  Sutherland,  one 
of  the  most  considerable  of  the  Scottish  barons,  whose  pos- 
sessions included  all  the  northern  parts  of  the  British  Isles. 
He  came  forward  slowly,  and  deep  emotion  was  visible  in 
his  venerable  features.  He  took  up  the  pen  with  a  trem- 
bling hand  and  signed  the  document. 

A  general  movement  now  took  place.  All  the  Presbyte- 
rians within  the  church  pressed  forward  to  the  Covenant 
and  subscribed  their  names.  But  this  was  not  enough ;  a 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  217 

whole  nation  was  waiting :  the  immense  parchment  was  car- 
ried  into  the  church-yard,  and  spread  out  on  a  large  tomb- 
stone, to  receive  on  this  expressive  table  the  signature  of  the 
church.  Scotland  had  never  beheld  a  day  like  that.  The 
heads  of  the  people  then  said,  as  Joshua  once  did,  "  As  for 
me  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord.  And  the  people 
answered  and  said,  God  forbid  that  we  should  forsake  the 
Lord."  (Josh.  xxiv.  15,  16.)  They  rushed  to  the  tomb 
which  covered  the  ashes  of  one  of  Caledonia's  sons,  and  on 
which  was  spread  that  charter  by  which  the  nation,  in  sign- 
ing it,  became  "witnesses  against  themselves,  that  they 
chose  the  Lord  to  serve  him."  (v.  22.)  Some  sobbed, 
some  shouted  ;  some,  after  their  names,  added  "  till  death," 
and  others  opening  a  vein,  wrote  their  name  with  their  own 
blood.  There  was  no  confusion,  no  tumult.  After  these 
hours  of  strong  emotion,  this  immense  multitude  dispersed 
quietly,  and  each  one  returned  to  his  home  in  peace. 

On  the  following  day,  the  parchment,  to  which  it  became 
necessary  to  add  several  more  sheets,  was  carried  to  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  town,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  respective 
districts  might  affix  their  signatures.  Crowds  accompanied 
it  from  place  to  place,  shedding  tears  and  imploring  the  Di- 
vine blessing  on  these  acts.  At  the  same  time  a  remarkable 
improvement  took  place  in  the  life  and  manners  of  those 
who  signed.  With  the  exception  of  one  instance  of  trifling 
inportance,  no  injury  was  anywhere  done  either  to  the  pre- 
lates or  their  partisans. 

The  Covenant  then  began  to  make  the  circuit  of  Scotland. 
John  Livingston  was  at  Lanark,  his  father's  parish,  when  it 
was  read  and  sworn  to  by  the  minister,  elders,  and  people. 
Livingston,  yet  a  young  minister,  having  been  called  upon 
to  preach  in  the  church  of  Shotts,  in  the  year  1630,  on  a 
Comrmxnion  day,  had  passed  the  whole  night,  from  Sunday 
to  Monday,  in  prayer.  In  the  morning,  standing  on  a  tomb- 
stone, he  preached  in  the  churchyard  to  a  great  multitude, 
on  Ezekiel  xxxvi.  25,  26,  "  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water 

10 


218  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean."  The  pouring  out  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  such,  that  five  hundred  persons  could 
date  their  conversion  from  that  day.  Soon  after,  on  a  sim- 
ilar occasion,  a  thousand  persons  were  either  converted  or 
remarkably  confirmed ;  the  preceding  night  having,  in  like 
manner,  been  devoted  by  the  young  minister  and  some  pious 
friends  to  fervent  prayer.  The  Covenant  now  arrived  at 
Lanark  ;  and  the  servant  of  the  Most  High  again  witnessed 
those  powerful  emotions  which  the  Spirit  of  God  had  for- 
merly excited  in  the  church-yards  of  Shotts  and  of  Holy- 
wood.  Thousands  of  reformed  Christians  were  standing 
with  their  hands  uplifted,  and  tears  falling  from  their  eyes, 
while  with  one  consent  they  all  devoted  themselves  to  the 
Lord. 

Such  scenes  might  be  witnessed  everywhere.  In  the  High- 
lands especially,  this  Evangelical  alliance  was  joyfully  wel- 
comed. The  king  and  the  prelates,  with  the  view  of  getting 
rid  of  the  most  pious  and  steadfast  ministers — Bruce,  Ruther- 
ford, Dickson,  and  others — had  banished  them  to  those  wild 
districts ;  but  by  the  instructions  of  these  godly  ministers, 
vital  Christianity  had  been  widely  spread  abroad.  Rival 
clans,  which  had  never  before  met,  except  in  strife,  now 
saluted  each  other  as  brethren,  and,  after  signing  the  Cove- 
nant, departed  in  charity  and  peace.  The  bishops  were 
thunderstruck.  "  All  that  we  have  been  doing  these  thirty 
years,"  exclaimed  they,  "is  thrown  down  in  one  day." 

Such  was  the  commencement  of  that  important  affair  of 
the  Covenant,  which  a  celebrated  novelist  has  represented  in 
so  false  a  light.  Such  was  the  Grutli  of  Scotland,  Many 
circumstances  here,  indeed,  remind  us  of  that  solemn  moment 
when  Walter  Furst,  Stauffacher,  Melchtal,  and  their  friends, 
lifted  their  three  fingers  to  heaven,  and  swore  to  save  Swit- 
zerland from  the  tyranny  of  the  Austrians.  We  must,  never- 
theless, observe,  that  Scotland  had  still  greater  evils  to 
encounter.  It  was  not  only  her  political  liberty  which  was 
endangered,  it  was  also  those  rights  of  conscience  which  are 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  219 

held  of  God  alone,  and  which  were  then  trampled  on  by 
worthy  pupils  of  Innocent  III.,  Pius  V.,  Philip  of  Spain,  and 
Charles  IX.  of  France.  And  while  great  popular  movements 
have  been  too  often  accompanied  with  irreligion  and  hatred 
of  the  Gospel,  it  was  only  by  bowing  the  knee  before  God 
and  His  Word  that  the  Scotch  learned  to  present  a  forehead 
like  adamant  to  the  powers  of  the  earth.  (Ezek.  iii.  9.) 
Yet,  whatever  may  be  the  difference,  we  can  never  see  a 
people  having  recourse  to  arms  for  the  defence  of  their  con- 
science, and  forbear  deploring  it ;  for  this  can  never  be  done 
without  the  mixture  of  earthly  and  spiritual  things  producing 
lamentable  excesses.  We  say,  and  repeat  with  the  Apostle  : 
'•  We  do  not  war  after  the  flesh ;  for  the  weapons  of  our 
warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty  through  God."  (2  Cor. 
x.  3,  4.) 


V. 


SECOND    REFORMATION. 

THE  king,  astounded  at  this  great  national  movement,  ap- 
pointed the  Marquis  of  Hamilton  Lord  High  Commissioner, 
commanding  him  to  re-establish  Prelacy  in  Scotland,  and 
secretly  authorizing  him  to  act  any  part  he  might  think 
proper ;  and  even,  should  it  be  necessary,  to  seem  opposed 
to  his  views.  For  this  purpose,  Charles  provided  Hamilton 
beforehand  with  secret  letters  of  pardon  in  these  terms : — 
"  These  are,  therefore,  to  assure  you,  that  if  need  be,  here- 
after to  testify  to  others,  that  whatsoever  ye  shall  say  to 
them  to  discover  their  intentions,  ye  shall  neither  be  called 
in  question  for  the  same  ;  nor  yet  shall  it  prove  in  any  way 
prejudicial  to  you."  We  see  that  the  king's  letters  of  indul- 
gence almost  exceed  those  of  the  pope. 

The  majority  of  the  English,  and  even  the  nobles,  were 
opposed  to  the  violent  measures  which  the  king  was  about  to 
adopt.  The  English  and  the  Scottish  people  do  not  in  this 


220  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

appear  as  rivals,  but  rather  as  brethren,  enduring,  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  the  same  evils.  It  was  from  the  Vatican,  the 
Escurial,  and  the  Louvre,  that  the  tempest  was  blowing  which 
was  so  soon  to  devastate  Britain  ;  and  many  of  the  English 
regarded  the  wrongs  done  to  the  Scotch,  as  if  they  had  been 
inflicted  on  themselves. 

To  the  perfidious  conduct  of  Charles,  the  Scotch  only 
offered  a  legitimate  opposition.  As  soon  as  the  Marquis  of 
Hamilton  arrived,  they  demanded  of  him  a  General  Assem- 
bly and  a  Parliament,  for  they  were  willing  to  proceed  con- 
formably to  the  constitution  both  of  church  and  state.  The 
Lord  High  Commissioner,  after  much  hesitation,  decided 
upon  trying  that  way.  He  hoped  to  influence  the  elections, 
as  James  I.  had  done,  to  sow  disunion  in  the  Assembly,  and 
thus  to  maintain  the  royal  supremacy  in  the  church.  Charles 
began,  like  his  father,  by  "  king-craft,"  reserving  the  sword 
for  a  future  occasion. 

For  twenty  years  previously  there  had  been  no  General 
Assembly  in  the  Church  of  Scotland ;  and  for  forty  years 
there  had  not  been  a  pure  one.  The  Presbyterians,  deeply 
moved  at  beholding  once  more  their  ancient  institutions,  did 
all  in  their  power  to  recall  the  principles  which  had  fallen 
into  oblivion.  Whenever  the  congregations  met  for  prayer, 
the  members  were  seen  exhorting  one  another  to  fidelity; 
and  they  returned  as  members  of  Assembly  those  ministers, 
nobles  and  gentlemen,  who  were  the  most  able  and  the  most 
zealous.  Hamilton  was  in  consternation  at  learning  this :  it 
was  no  servile  Assembly,  like  those  of  Glasgow  and  Perth, 
which  was  now  preparing.  The  Lord  High  Commissioner 
would  willingly  have  prorogued  this  council  of  the  Scottish 
Church,  but  he  knew  it  would  have  been  held  notwithstand- 
ing his  opposilion.  The  cup  must  now  be  drained. 

On  the  21st  of  November,  1638,  the  ministers  and  elders 
of  Scotland  met,  to  advise  upon  the  important  affair  of  the 
restoration  of  Presbyterianism.  The  royal  commissioner  and 
the  true  Presbyterians  at  last  were  brought  face  to  face.  The 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  221 

latter,  aware  that  the  slightest  error  would  be  their  ruin, 
acted  with  remarkable  prudence  and  firmness.  That  excel- 
lent minister,  Alexander  Henderson,  the  worthy  successor  of 
Knox  and  Melville,  was  chosen  Moderator. 

The  Prelates,  foreseeing  the  issue  of  their  debates,  sent  in 
a  declaration,  by  which  they  declined  the  judicature  of  the 
Assembly.  But  the  latter  declared,  that  as  the  prelates  had 
sent  a  representative  in  their  name,  they  had  acknowledged 
it  by  that  very  act,  and  ordered  an  answer  to  that  effect  to 
be  immediately  drawn  up. 

This  was  done,  and  soon  after,  this  formidable  indictment 
was  read  in  presence  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  of  the 
commissioner  of  Charles  I.  The  prelates  were  therein  ac- 
cused of  having  transgressed  the  limits  (caveats)  imposed 
upon  them  by  the  king,  of  having  usurped  a  lordly  supre- 
macy over  the  church,  of  teaching  heretical  doctrines,  and  of 
having  been  personally  guilty  of  irreligious  conduct,  and 
even  of  the  grossest  immorality.  St.  Paul,  writing  to  Titus, 
had.  forbidden  that  men  should  be  chosen  bishops  who  were 
"  soon  angry,"  "  given  to  wine,"  "  accused  of  riot,  or  un- 
ruly." The  church  accused  the  bishops  of  the  faults  pro- 
scribed by  St.  Paul. 

As  soon  as  this  paper  had  been  read,  the  Moderator  de- 
manded of  the  Assembly  whether  they  found  themselves 
competent  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  that  cause.  Hamilton, 
who  had  listened  with  confusion  to  the  scandalous  enumera- 
tion of  the  tyranny,  heresies,  and  vices  of  the  prelates,  for- 
bade any  further  proceedings,  and  ordered  the  Assembly  to 
dissolve. 

What  were  the  Presbyterians  to  do  ?  They  had  received 
from  the  mouth  of  their  Master  the  rule  of  their  conduct. 
Jesus  said,  "  Render  unto  Ctesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's, 
and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's."  "All  that  be- 
longeth  to  us  we  are  ready  to  render  unto  his  majesty,"  said 
Henderson  ;  "our  lives,  our  goods,  and  our  liberties;  all — all. 
But  what  belongs  to  God,  and  to  the  liberties  of  His  house, 


222  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

the  piety  of  his  majesty  will  not  demand  them  of  us  ;  and,  if 
he  did,  we  could  not  sacrifice  them.  Even  if  your  Grace 
should  leave  the  Assembly,"  added  Henderson  and  Lord 
Loudon,  "  the  Assembly  will  continue  to  sit  until  it  has  per- 
formed its  duty." 

Hamilton  felt  great  emotion :  his  voice  trembled,  his 
cheeks  were  pale,  and  tears  fell  from  his  eyes.  "  I  stand," 
said  he,  "  to  the  king's  prerogative,  as  supreme  judge  over 
all  causes  civil  and  ecclesiastical.  To  him  the  lords  of  the 
clergy  have  appealed ;  and,  therefore,  I  will  not  suffer  their 
cause  to  be  farther  reasoned  here."  He  then  desired  the 
Moderator  to  close  the  Assembly  with  prayer.  Henderson 
refused  to  do  so.  The  Lord  High  Commissioner  then  arose, 
declared  the  Assembly  dissolved,  and  retired  in  distress  and 
perplexity,  foreseeing  the  terrible  consequences  which  would 
ensue  to  his  country. 

This  was  a  solemn  moment  for  the  church.  The  great 
question  was  set  before  her,  "  To  be,  or  not  to  be  ?"  It  was 
to  know,  whether  the  authority  of  an  earthly  prince  was  to 
prevail  within  her,  over  the  authority  of  her  Eternal  King. 
The  royal  power  had  withdrawn.  The  representative  of 
Charles  I.,  his  knights,  his  councillors,  his  pages,  had  left 
the  hall.  But  was  there  not  present  the  King  of  kings,  the 
Lord  of  lords,  who  had  said,  "  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world  ?"  (Matt,  xxviii.  20.) 

Henderson  and  the  Presbyterians  remained  unmoved.  In 
the  name  of  Christ,  their  Invisible  King,  and  in  the  name  of 
the  law  violated  by  the  state,  this  Assembly,  representing 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  declared  itself  constituted,  and 
competent  to  judge  in  all  spiritual  causes,  notwithstanding 
the  absence  of  the  state  ;  reserving,  nevertheless,  in  order  to 
show  submission  to  the  government,  all  that  might  entail 
any  civil  consequences. 

Then  this  great  Scottish  council,  proceeding  with  order 
and  dignity,  declared  null  all  those  Assemblies  from  1606  to 
1618,  by  which,  in  opposition  to  the  constitutions  of  the 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  223 

c'hurch  and  the  nation,  Prelacy  had  been  introduced  into 
Scotland.  They  condemned  the  five  articles  of  Perth  and 
the  Liturgy.  Th~y  deposed  and  excommunicated  eight  of 
the  bishops,  simply  deposed  four  more,  and  allowed  the 
other  two  to  continue  their  functions  as  ordinary  ministers. 
They  re-established  Presbyteries,  Synods,  and  General  As- 
semblies, and  forbade  the  intrusion  of  a  minister  into  any 
parish  against  the  will  of  the  congregation.  In  short,  they 
firmly  settled  once  mure  the  great  principles  of  the  independ- 
ence of  the  church  as  to  the  state.  "  There  is,"  it  was  stated, 
"a  distinction  made  between  civil  and  ecclesiastical  jurisdic- 
tion. All  is  ecclesiastical,  and  only  ecclesiastical,  in  the  one  ; 
and  all  civil,  and  only  civil,  in  the  other :  their  very  prin- 
ciples and  rules  are  different.  In  the  one,  civil  laws  are  the 
rule,  but  in  the  other,  the  Word  of  God  is  the  only  rule. 
They  are  independent  of  one  another  in  their  own  jurisdic- 
tion ;  and,  as  an  Assembly  cannot  prescribe  rules  to  the  Par- 
liament in  civil  matters,  no  more  ought  the  Parliament  to 
prescribe  to  the  Assembly  in  ecclesiastical." 

It  was  also  settled,  that  the  next  General  Assembly  should 
meet  at  Edinburgh  on  the  third  Wednesday  of  July,  1639, 
in  virtue  of  its  own  intrinsic  powers,  whether  it  should  be 
convened  by  the  king  or  not. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  Henderson,  after  pronouncing 
the  apostolic  benediction,  declared  that  noble  General  As- 
sembly dissolved  in  these  remarkable  words :  "  We  have 
now  cast  down  the  walls  of  Jericho  :  let  him  that  rebuildeth 
them  beware  of  the  curse  of  Hiel  the  Bethelite."  Hie!  the 
Bethelite  was  he  who  attempted  to  rebuild  Jericho,  and  this 
was  the  curse  pronounced  upon  him,  and  which  Henderson 
applied  to  those  who  would  rebuild  Prelacy  in  Scotland  : 
"Cursed  be  the  man  before  the  Lord,"  said  Joshua,  "that 
riseth  up  and  buildeth  this  city  Jericho :  he  shall  lay  the 
foundation  thereof  in  his  first-born,  and  in  his  youngest 
son  shall  he  set  up  the  gates  of  it."  An  awful  malediction, 
which  was  registered  in  heaven,  and  fulfilled  by  the  destruc- 


224  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

tion  of  the  Stuarts,  from  their  first-born  to  the  last  of  their 
posterity. 

The  Assembly  of  1638  was  perhaps  the  most  important 
that  the  Church  of  Scotland  had  ever  held.  Presbyterian- 
ism  was  established  on  its  primitive  basis.  This  epoch  is, 
therefore,  called  in  Scottish  histor}*,  the  Second  Reformation. 

The  Marquis  of  Hamilton  seeing  all  his  efforts  unavailing, 
hastily  returned  to  London,  where  he  found  the  king  inflamed 
with  rage.  The  English,  far  from  supporting  their  sovereign 
against  the  Scots,  recognized  the  spirit  of  Popery  in  Charles's 
proceedings,  and  began  to  fear  for  themselves.  One  of  those 
great  movements  which  change  the  destinies  of  nations  was 
now  in  preparation  ;  and  once  more  was  that  ancient  proph- 
ecy about  to  be  accomplished — "  I  gave  thee  a  king  in  mine 
anger,  and  took  him  away  in  my  wrath."  (Hosea,  xiii.  11.) 

The  king  resolved  to  march  against  all  those  who  had  sub- 
scribed the  Covenant ;  while  the  Presbyterians,  on  their  side, 
took  up  arms  (1639).  Their  camp  at  Dunse  Law,  presented 
a  singular  spectacle.  In  some  of  the  tents  the  singing  of 
psalms  was  heard ;  from  others,  prayers  were  ascending  to 
heaven  ;  and  in  others,  men  were  devoutly  reading  the  Scrip- 
tures. Before  the  tent  of  each  captain  floated  a  banner  with 
the  Scottish  colors,  bearing  the  national  arms  and  this  motto 
— "  For  Christ's  crown  and  Covenant."  Morning  and  evening 
the  sound  of  the  trumpet  called  the  regiments  to  their  devo- 
tions. We  shall  not  describe  the  political  events  that  ensued  ; 
as  it  is  of  the  church  alone  that  we  would  speak. 

VI. 

WAR    AND    PEACE. 

ONE  of  the  dearest  wishes  of  the  Scottish  people  was  to 
see  the  same  church  of  Christ  in  the  whole  island.  With 
this  view,  in  1623,  the  famous  Westminster  Assembly  was 
held  in  London,  in  which  were  the  most  eminent  men  of 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  225 

England  and  Scotland  met  together ;  and  which  had  for  its 
object  to  draw  up  a  form  of  doctrine,  of  constitution,  and  of 
discipline,  which  should  unite  all  the  churches  of  Great 
Britain  into  one  body,  fitted  to  glorify  the  name  of  Christ, 
and  resist  effectually  the  power  of  the  Papacy.  Such  was 
to  be  the  result  of  the  triumph  of  that  Covenant,  the  signing 
of  which  had  been  commenced  upon  a  tombstone. 

There  were  three  parties  in  this  Assembly,  the  Episcopa- 
lians, the  Independents,  and  the  Presbyterians,  who  held  a 
middle  course  between  the  former  two  ;  and  it  was  necessary, 
to  a  certain  extent,  to  conciliate  the  views  of  these  three 
parties. 

The  English  Presbyterians  even  differed  from  those  of 
Scotland  ;  they'were  not  disposed  to  grant  full  rights  to  the 
flocks.  The  ancient  Episcopal  influence,  the  fear  of  inde- 
pendent principles,  the  view  of  what  the  church  then  was — 
very  imperfect,  it  is  true,  in  England — occasioned  them  some 
scruples  in  this  regard.  Nevertheless,  it  was  settled,  with 
respect  to  the  election  of  ministers,  that  "  the  candidate 
should  be  sent  to  the  church  he  was  to  serve,  to  preach  at 
three  different  times,  and  to  converse  with  the  members,  that 
they,  may  have  trial  of  his  gifts  for  their  edification,  and  that 
they  may  have  an  opportunity  of  being  acquainted  with  his 
life  and  conversation ;  then  this  congregation  is  to  make 
known  their  consent  or  their  objections."  Although  it  was 
stipulated  that  the  flock  was  to  give  its  consent,  the  Scottish 
Assembly,  accepting  the  draft  of  that  of  Westminster,  ex- 
pressly reserved  all  that  might  infringe  upon  the  rights, 
either  of  presbyteries  or  congregations,  as  to  the  calling  of 
ministers. 

The  Scottish  parliament,  which  met  on  the  9th  of  March, 
1649,  passed  an  act,  important  as  manifesting  the  spirit  of 
the  church  and  people.  "  Patronages  and  presentations  of 
kirks,"  it  says,  "is  an  evil  and  bondage  under  which  the 
Lord's  people,  and  ministers  of  this  land,  have  long  groaned ; 
it  hath  no  warrant  in  God's  word,  but  is  founded  only  on 
10* 


226  .HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

the  canon  law,  and  is  a  custom  popish,  and  was  brought  into 
the  kirk  in  time  of  ignorance  and  superstition ;  the  same  is 
contrary  to  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline,  and  unto  several 
acts  of  General  Assemblies ;  it  is  prejudicial  to  the  liberty  of 
the  people  and  planting  of  kirks,  and  unto  the  free  calling 
and  entry  of  ministers  into  their  charges."  The  act  then 
proceeds  to  annul  "  all  patronages  and  presentations,  whether 
belonging  to  the  king  or  to  any  laic  patron,  presbyteries,  or 
others  within  the  kingdom  ;"  and  enacts,  that  the  places  of 
ministers  shall  be  filled  "  upon  the  suit  and  calling,  or  with 
the  consent  of  the  congregation,  on  whom  none  is  to  be  ob- 
truded against  their  will." 

In  July  of  the  same  year,  the  General  Assembly  passed 
another  act,  by  virtue  of  which,  if  the  majority  declared  that 
the  presentee  did  not  edify,  or  that  they  had  not  confidence 
in  him,  the  presbytery  and  the  flock  were  to  have  a  mutual 
conference,  in  order  to  clear  up  the  matter ;  but  it  nowhere 
says  that  the  majority,  notwithstanding  their  opposition, 
should  be  constrained  to  admit  the  minister, — a  constraint 
which  would  have  been  diametrically  opposed  to  the  princi- 
ples so  clearly  established  by  the  ecclesiastical  law  of  Scot- 
land. 

The  Scottish  parliament  sent  commissioners  to  Holland,  to 
negotiate  with  the  young  king,  Charles  II.,  whose  father, 
Charles  I.,  to  the  great  grief  of  Scotland,  had  died  on  the 
scaffold.  These  commissioners  found  him  surrounded  by 
unprincipled  and  profligate  men  ;  and  the  parliament  was, 
therefore,  thinking  of  recalling  its  deputies,  when  Charles 
arrived  in  Scotland,  and  carelessly  signed  the  fundamental 
laws  of  the  Covenant,  which  established  the  liberties  both  of 
church  and  state.  "  Sir,"  said  the  minister  Gillespie,  "  do 
not  subscribe  that  declaration  ;  no,  not  for  the  three  kingdoms, 
if  you  are  not  satisfied,  in  your  soul  and  conscience,  beyond 
all  hesitation,  of  its  righteousness." — "  Mr.  Gillespie,  Mr.  Gil- 
lespie," replied  the  king,  "  I  am  satisfied,  I  am  satisfied,  and 
therefore  will  subscribe."  And  he  did  so.  But  his  political 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  227 

and  religious  opinions,  and  his  corrupt  heart,  his  licentious 
conduct,  and  hatred  of  all  that  was  most  pious  in  Scotland 
were  in  flagrant  opposition  to  his  oaths.  By  replacing  on 
the  throne  a  Stuart  still  more  despotic,  and,  above  all,  more 
depraved  than  either  his  father  or  his  grandfather  had  been, 
did  not  Scotland  expose  herself  to  greater  dangers  ?  Might 
not  the  Covenant  be  destroyed,  the  Word  of  God  sealed, 
Presbyterianism  abolished,  and  Prelacy  restored  ?  .  .  .  . 

The  Scotch  have  often  been  blamed  for  recalling  Charles 
II.  ;  neither  can  I  justify  this  step,  which  exposed  the  three 
kingdoms  to  the  encroachments  of  despotism,  popery,  and 
immorality.  But  we  should  understand  the  meaning  of  this 
transaction.  The  more  decided  the  Scotch  were  in  denying 
all  supremacy  to  the  throne  in  spiritual  things,  the  more 
they  thought  themselves  bound  to  render  a  loyal  obedience 
in  civil  and  political  matters.  The  very  readiness  with 
which  they  threw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  a  young  and 
profligate  despot,  shows  that  the  great  principle  of  church 
independence  proceeded  from  no  revolutionary  spirit ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  from  an  unlimited  and  exclusive  subjection 
to  the  lawful  King  of  the  church,  to  the  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ.  The  Scotch  carried  their  loyalty  to  an  ex- 
treme in  the  spheres  both  of  church  and  state.  Happily,  it 
is  impossible  to  be  too  faithful  to  Him  who  is  the  King  of 
kings,  and  to  whom  pertains  the  dominion  of  spirits. 

The  same  thing  may  be  seen  in  our  own  days.  While 
Ireland,  for  whose  sake  the  British  government  is  apparently 
sacrificing  the  ancient  constitution  of  Britain,  is,  notwith- 
standing in  a  state  of  permanent  revolt,  and  can  never  raise 
itself  from  a  condition  of  wretchedness,  the  causes  of  which 
are  to  be  sought  in  popery  itself,  and  not  in  any  political  ar- 
rangements ;  Scotland,  on  the  contrary,  whom  the  same  gov- 
ernment has  treated  with  a  denial  of  justice  which  might 
have  caused  a  whole  people  to  revolt,  has  never  raised  an 
arm ;  no,  not  a  finger ;  and  has  exhibited  the  astonishing 
spectacle  of  an  entire  nation,  which,  while  agitating,  pray- 


228  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ing,  struggling  for  its  most  sacred  rights  trampled  under 
foot  by  the  powers  of  the  world,  has  yet  remained  in  order, 
in  submission,  and  in  peace.  These  are  enigmas  of  which 
the  Gospel  alone  furnishes  the  key. 

While  Scotland  was  thus  imprudently  rushing  into  the 
arms  of  Charles  II.,  God  was  still  watching  over  her.  De- 
liverance was  to  come  from  the  camp  of  her  neighbors! 
Hardly  had  Charles,  with  perfidious  hand,  signed  the  Cove- 
nant, when  the  sounds  of  approaching  war  were  heard,  and 
the  republican  army  of  England,  under  the  command  of 
Cromwell,  drew  near  to  Edinburgh. 

The  Scottish  army  was  defeated  by  Oliver  on  the  3rd 
September,  1650,  near  Dunbar. 

It  was  necessary  to  repair  this  check.  Two  resolutions 
were  passed  at  Perth,  in  December,  by  virtue  of  which  all 
the  Scotch  might  be  called  to  arms, — even  those  who  hated 
the  liberties  of  the  church,  and  were  desirous  of  favoring 
the  despotism  of  the  Stuarts, — the  Malignants  as  they  were 
termed.  The  strict  Presbyterians  protested  against  these 
resolutions ;  and  thenceforward,  in  Scotland,  those  were 
called  Resolutionists,  who,  although  pious  men,  (Leighton 
was  among  their  number,)  were  in  favor  of  the  mixture,  and 
for  measures  seemingly  in  accordance  with  the  wisdom  of 
the  world ;  and  Protesters,  those  who  added  to  their  piety, 
unshaken  principles  and  great  decision  of  character. 

Charles  was  again  obliged  to  fly  to  the  Continent ;  and 
Cromwell,  the  conqueror  of  Scotland,  intrusted  the  pious 
minister,  Gillespie,  and  some  of  his  colleagues,  with  the 
direction  of  church  affairs. 

It  was  then  that  Scotland  reaped  the  benefits  of  the  Cove- 
nant. Piety  and  freedom  reigned  throughout  the  kingdom. 
The  Scots,  who  anticipated  still  more  fearful  struggles,  re- 
newed their  strength  in  communion  with  the  Lord,  and  took 
courage  in  his  Almighty  power.  Then  followed  ten  of  those 
years  which  God  grants  to  his  people  when  He  is  about  to 
call  them  to  greater  conflicts.  Blessed  is  the  people — let  us 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  229 

bear  this  in  mind ! — blessed  is  the  people  of  God,  when  they 
profit  by  such  hours  of  grace,  when  peace  neither  enfeebles 
nor  corrupts  them ;  and  when  at  the  moment  of  war  they 
are  to  be  found  having  their  loins  girt  about  with  truth,  and 
having  on  the  breastplate  of  righteousness  !  (Ephes.  vi.  14.) 
During  the  rule  of  the  Protector,  Scotland  enjoyed  a  pro- 
found peace.  All  the  vitality  of  the  kingdom  seemed  to 
flow  into  the  church.  "  I  verily  believe,"  says  the  historian 
Kirkton,  "  there  were  more  souls  converted  to  Christ  in  that 
short  period  of  time  than  in  any  other  season  since  the  Ref- 
ormation, though  of  triple  its  duration." 

But  Cromwell  was  dead  ;  intrigues  were  again  commenced 
both  in  Scotland  and  England  for  the  recall  of  Charles  II. ; 
and  on  the  29th  of  May,  1660,  that  unhappy  prince  entered 
London  in  triumph,  bringing  with  him  for  that  Scotland 
which  had  first  so  loyally  welcomed  him,  nothing  but  ruin 
and  desolation. 

I  here  conclude  the  first  period  of  the  struggles  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  during  the  seventeenth  century, — an 
epoch,  signalized  by  important  political  events,  by  campaigns 
and  battles.  These  I  have  almost  entirely  passed  over  in 
silence,  because  I  have  been  especially  desirous  of  recalling 
what  may  be  instructive  to  the  Church  of  God. 

There  were  in  Scotland  fighting  men,  but  there  was  a  still 
greater  number  of  praying,  loving,  long-suffering  men.  This 
is  the  victory  for  which  the  church  of  our  time  is  called  upon 
to  fight. 

On  emerging  from  the  middle  ages,  political  and  spiritual 
matters  were  so  mixed  up  together,  that  it  was  sometimes 
impossible  not  to  defend  heavenly  things  with  earthly  weap- 
ons. But  for  the  last  three  centuries,  whatever  may  be  said, 
a  great  purification,  a  great  separation,  has  taken  place. 
See,  in  Scotl«d  itself,  the  Free  Church  of  our  day !  her 
rights  are  infringed  in  the  eyes  of  her  adherents  ;  and  yet 
they  have  not  fought;  they  have  sacrificed,  prayed,  and 
suffered. 


230  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

This  is  the  spiritual  warfare  we  are  called  upon  to  wage. 
But  who  are  those  among  us  who  profit  by  the  lessons  of  his- 
tory ?  Where  are  they  who,  like  Rutherford,  love  the  salu- 
tary mixture  of  grace  with  the  most  bitter  trials  ? — who  rise 
at  midnight  to  pray  for  hours  like  John  Welsh  ? — who,  like 
him,  rush  between  fighting  men  to  make  peace  ? — and  who, 
like  Livingston,  have  seen  in  one  day,  five  hundred  or  a  thou- 
sand turned  to  God  by  their  zeal  and  faithfulness  ?  Where 
are  they  who  know,  as  these  men  did,  that  Jesus  reigns  ; 
that  His  kingdom  is  in  this  world  the  greatest  of  realities ; 
that  there  is  no  other  whom  we  must  obey ;  and  that  -we 
should  be  ready,  rather  than  bow  the  head  under  a  foreign 
yoke,  to  go  even  into  prison  or  to  banishment  ? 

Oh !  how  little  are  we.  Alas  !  our  faith  is  often  a  pic- 
tured Christianity,  but  no  reality.  We  must  profit  by  the 
lessons  of  history.  God  has  set  before  us  things  which,  as 
St.  Paul  says,  are  ensamples  unto  us.  "  Take  heed  how  ye 
hear." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SCOTTISH  STRUGGLES. 
SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.   PRELACY  OF  LAUD. 

Second  Period.     1660  to  1700. 

1.  Individualism  and  Catholicism.  Babylonish  Captivity.  23d  August 
1660.  Middleton  and  his  Parliament.  Martyrdom  of  Argyle.  Of 
Guthrie.  Of  Govun.— 2.  Act  of  1662.  The  Four  Prelates.  Order 
to  the  Ministers.  Journey  and  Banquets.  Act  of  Glasgow.  Reso- 
lution of  the  Ministers.  The  last  Sunday.  John  Welsh.  Blackad- 
der.  Peden. — 3.  Delay  granted.  The  Curates.  Their  Arrival. 
Horse  and  Foot.  Before  and  After.  Co-operation  of  the  Curates 
and  the  Garrisons.  Soldier-judges.  A  Military  Expedition. — 4.  Mid- 
dleton dismissed.  Drag-net  Act.  High  Commission  Court.  Pent- 
land.  Execution  of  M'Kail.  First  Indulgence.  Act  of  1669.  Sec- 
ond Indulgence  and  Blair.  Retirement  of  Leighton. — 5.  Presbyterian 
Conventicles.  Cameron.  The  Duke  of  York.  Spreul.  Scarcity 
of  the  Word.  Excommunication  by  Cargill.  The  Duke  of  Rothes. — 
6.  Testimony  of  Marion  Harvey.  Death  of  Cargill.  The  Killing 
Time.  Declaration  of  1684.  The  Sea  and  Margaret  Wilson.  John 
Brown  and  Claverhouse.  General  Persecution. — 7.  Designs  of 
James  II.  Peden 's  Wanderings.  Act  of  Toleration.  The  last  Mar- 
tyr. The  Pope's  Godson. "  Revolution  of  1688.  Restoration  of  Pres- 
byterianism  and  Abolition  of  Patronage.  Communion  of  Saints. 
New  Period  and  New  Arms. 

I. 

THE    FIRST   MARTYRS. 

THERE  are  in  Christianity  two  essential  elements :  the  first 
is  individualism  ;  the  second  is  universalism. 

The  most  important  of  these  is  individualism.  It  is  in- 
dispensable that  the  individual,  that  you  and  I  should  be 


232  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

Christians.  I  must  address  myself  to  obtain  Christ  and  his 
Spirit  as  if  there  were  nothing  but  Him  and  me  in  the 
world. 

The  second  is  universalism,  which  I  should  call  Catholi- 
cism, if  that  word  had  not  obtained  a  very  different  accepta- 
tion. It  is  necessary  that  the  individual  having  become  a 
Christian  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  should  enter 
into  the  communion  of  saints,  knowing  that  "  we  are  many 
members,  but  one  body." 

Protestantism  has  more  especially  imposed  on  herself  the 
work  of  individualism,  while  Popery,  neglecting  the  individ- 
ual point  of  view  of  Christianity  appeared  (though  falsely) 
to  cultivate  more  carefully  the  universal  and  catholic  side. 

If  we,  as  Protestants,  are  the  true  individualists,  we  ought 
also  to  be  the  true  catholics.  And  if  this  side  of  Christianity 
is  too  much  neglected  among  us,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  minis- 
ter of  the  Word  to  bring  it  more  powerfully  before  the  mind. 
No,  there  is  not  here  merely  one  soul,  and  there  another  re- 
deemed by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  There  is  an  assembly 
of  souls ;  there  is  a  church.  There  are  not  many  members 
merely, — there  is  one  body. 

In  continuing  to  lay  before  you  some  portions  of  the 
church's  history,  one  of  my  objects  is,  with  God's  assistance, 
to  render  more  vivid  among  us  the  idea  of  Christian  com- 
munity. I  do  not  think  we  can  be  edified  in  speaking  merely 
of  the  work  of  Christian  individualism.  We  must  never  cease 
to  remember  that  we  are  only  different  members  placed  under 
the  same  head, — a  Head  which  is  in  heaven ;  and  the  history 
of  those  who  have  faithfully  realized  this  notion  must  surely 
afford  us  salutary  edification. 

The  second  captivity  of  the  Scottish  church  is  about  to 
commence,  lasting  from  1660  to  1688,  that  is  for  twenty- 
eight  years.  Twenty-eight  years  are  usually  assigned  to  the 
former,  from  1610  to  1638;  but  thirty-eight  may  well  be 
allowed  for  ft.  These  two  dismal  periods  were  those  of  the 
captivity  of  the  church  under  the  rule  of  the  state,  by  means 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  233 

of  Laud's  Prelacy ;  and  Scotland  has  good  reason  for  calling 
this  time  of  mourning  and  suffering  the  Babylonish  captivity. 

Never,  perhaps,  has  any  church  been  called  upon  to  main- 
tain a  more  desperate  conflict  against  state  supremacy.  The 
civil  power  was  about  to  take  up  those  weapons  with  which 
it  hoped  to  subdue  the  church,  and  such  weapons,  we  must 
remember,  as  have  not  been  exclusively  confined  to  the  sev- 
enteenth century.  Breaking  into  houses,  violence,  blows,  in- 
terdiction of  worship,  scattering  of  families,  imprisonment, 
fines,  scourging,  torture,  banishment,  drowning,  the  sword 
and  the  gallows, — none  of  these  were  to  be  spared  by  those 
Pharaohs  who  would  crush  the  people  of  God,  whether  in 
Egypt,  in  Scotland,  in  Switzerland,  or  elsewhere. 

Were  there  even  no  other  pages  of  Scottish  history  but 
those  to  which  we  have  now  to  turn,  we  could  understand 
why  that  country  should  consider  the  liberty  of  the  church 
as  the  ark  of  the  Lord,  the  keeping  of  which  has  been  in- 
trusted to  her  ;  and  why,  as  soon  as  the  state  annihilates  that 
liberty,  the  church  exclaims  in  anguish,  "  Ichabod  !  the  glory 
is  departed  from  Israel,  for  the  ark  of  God  is  taken  !" 

On  the  23d  August,  1660,  ten  ministers  and  two  elders 
were  joining  in  prayer  at  a  house  in  Edinburgh,  belonging  to 
Robert  Simpson.  Scotland  was  apprehensive  of  the  storm 
about  to  burst  upon  her,  and  these  pious  men  proposed  pre- 
senting to  King  Charles  II.  an  humble  address,  congratulat- 
ing him  on  his  restoration,  reminding  him  of  the  covenant 
with  the  Lord  which  he  had  signed,  and  praying  that  his 
reign  might  be  like  those  of  David,  Solomon,  and  Jehosha- 
phat.  They  intended  sending  round  this  address  for  the  sig- 
nature of  their  brethren  ;  but  on  a  sudden  a  party  of  soldiers 
entered,  seized  their  papers,,  and  conveyed  them  all  to  prison, 
which  one  of  them,  James  Guthrie,  never  left  but  for  the 
scaffold.  "  The  enemy  shall  come  in  like  a  flood,  but  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  up  a  standard  against  him."  (Isa. 

lix.  19.) 

The  Earl  of  Middleton,  a  soldier  of  fortune,  a  coarse  and 


234  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

haughty  man,  had  been  placed  by  Charles  as  Lord  High 
Commissioner,  at  the  head  of  the  Scottish  government.  He 
immediately  called  a  parliament,  of  which  the  majority  was 
composed  of  Malignants,  that  is,  "  lovers  of  pleasure  more 
than  lovers  of  God,"  (2  Tim.  iii.  4,)  and  opposed  to  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  church.  Bishop  Burnet  states  that  "those 
about  the  Earl  of  Middleton  often  continued  drinking  through 
the  whole  night  till  the  next  morning,  and  they  came  to  par- 
liament reeling  "  Given  up  to  debauchery  during  the  night, 
they  devoted  themselves  to  despotism  during  thy  day. 

This  parliament  repealed  and  rescinded  all  the  acts  passed 
since  1633,  that  is  to  say,  it  annihilated  the  liberties  of  the 
state  and  of  the  church.  A  new  act  then  announced  his 
majesty's  intention  of  establishing  the  church  in  a  manner 
"  most  suitable  to  monarchical  government." 

But  this  was  not  enough.  The  enemies  of  the  church  are 
at  all  times  like  each  other.  When  King  Herod  saw  the 
assemblies  of  the  disciples  prospering,  not  only  at  Jerusalem 
but  at  Caesarea,  did  he  not  "stretch  forth  his  hand  to  vex 
certain  of  them,  and  kill  James  the  brother  of  John,  and 
proceed  further  to  take  Peter  also  ?"  Charles  would  do  like 
Herod.  He  would  strike  at  the  Covenanters,  who  welcomed 
him  at  the  time  of  his  exile,  and  by  terrible  blows  teach  the 
Christian  people  to  bow  down  their  heads,  or  else  to  die. 

At  the  head  of  the  Presbyterian  party  was  the  Marquis  of 
Argyle,  the  most  illustrious  of  the  Scottish  nobles,  who  in 
1650  had  taken  the  principal  part  in  the  young  king's  coro- 
nation. Charles  II.  disliked  him,  not  only  because  he  was 
unalterably  faithful  to  the  cause  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
but  also  because  he  had  sometimes  rebuked  him  for  his  licen- 
tious behavior ;  and  because,  having  broken  the  promise  he 
had  made  of  marrying  this  nobleman's  daughter,  the  king 
hated  the  father  whom  he  had  thus  offended.  Argyle  was 
condemned  to  death.  On  hearing  his  sentence,  this  pious 
Scotchman  arose  and  said :  "  I  had  the  honor  to  set  the 
crown  upon  the  king's  head,  and  now  he  hastens  me  to  a 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  235 

better  crown  than  his  own."  The  love  of  God  filled  his  soul 
with  heavenly  joy.  When  the  Marchioness  and  some  of  his 
friends  exclaimed  against  the  cruelty  of  his  adversaries : 
"  Forbear,"  he  cried,  "forbear!  they  may  shut  me  in  where 
they  please,  but  they  cannot  shut  out  God  from  me."  The 
Marquis  foresaw  that  a  fearful  storm  was  about  to  burst 
upon  Scotland ;  he  therefore  said  to  some  of  the  ministers 
who  were  imprisoned  with  him  :  "  Mind  that  I  tell  it  you : 
you  who  are  ministers  will  either  suffer  much  or  sin  much." 
Holy  words,  which  ministers  at  all  times  would  do  well  to 
lay  to  heart !  Argyle  was  naturally  of  a  timid  disposition, 
but  God  bestowed  upon  him  great  courage.  On  the  day  of 
his  death,  having  dined  with  several  ministers,  he  retired  to 
his  closet  to  seek  Jesus  his  King.  When  he  returned  to  the 
room  :  "  What  cheer,  my  lord  ?  "  asked  the  minister,  Hutch- 
inson.  "  Good  cheer,  sir,  he  replied  :  "  The  Lord  hath  again 
confirmed  and  said  to  me  from  heaven,  '  Son,  be  of  good 
cheer,  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee.'  "  When  taking  leave  of 
his  friends  to  go  to  the  scaffold,  he  said  to  them  :  "  I  could 
die  like  a  Roman,  but  choose  rather  to  die  as  a  Christian." 
He  said  to  the  multitude  :  God  hath  laid  engagements  upon 
Scotland  ;  we  are  tied  by  covenant  to  religion  and  reforma- 
tion. It  is  the  duty  of  every  Christian  to  be  loyal,  yet  I 
think  the  order  of  things  is  to  be  observed.  Religion  must 
not  be  the  cockboat,  but  the  ship ;  God  must  have  what  is 
His,  as  well  as  Caesar  what  is  his."  The  Marquis  then  prayed 
fervently,  and  bent  his  head  to  the  axe  of  the  executioner. 

But  this  was  not  sufficient.  Charles,  like  Herod,  must 
begin  with  more  than  one  illustrious  head.  James  Guthrie, 
minister  of  Stirling,  was  prosecuted  for  refusing  to  acknowl- 
edge the  king's  competency  to  judge  in  church  matters,  and 
condemned  to  die  the  death  of  a  traitor.  "  My  Lord,"  said 
he  to  his  judge,  when  this  was  announced  to  him,  "  my  con- 
science I  cannot  submit ;  but  this  crazy  body  and  mortal 
flesh  I  do  submit,  to  do  with  it  whatsoever  you  will." 

On  the  day  of  his  execution,  Guthrie,  full  of  serenity  and 


HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

joy,  addressed  the  people  from  the  scaffold.  "  Jesus  Christ," 
said  he,  "  is  my  light  and  my  life,  my  righteousness,  my 
strength,  and  my  salvation,  and  all  my  desire ;  Him,  oh ! 
Him,  I  do  with  all  the  strength  of  my  soul  commend  unto 
you !  Bless  him,  0  my  soul !  Now  let  thy  servant  depart 
in  peace,  since  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation."  When 
a  napkin  was  thrown  over  his  face  at  the  fatal  moment,  he 
boldly  raised  it  and  exclaimed,  "  The  covenants,  the  cove- 
nants shall  yet  be  Scotland's  reviving  !" 

At  the  foot  of  the  scaffold  stood  a  soldier,  Captain  Govan, 
sentenced  to  die  at  the  same  time  as  Guthrie.  When  the 
martyr  had  been  hanged,  the  captain's  turn  came.  "  It 
pleased  the  Lord,"  said  he,  "  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  my 
age  to  manifest  his  love  to  me,  and  now  it  is  about  twenty- 
four  years  since,  all  which  time  I  professed  the  truth  which 
I  suffer  for,  and  bear  testimony  to  at  this  day.  I  am  not 
afraid  of  the  cross,  it  is  sweet ;  otherwise,  how  durst  I  look 
upon  the  corpse  of  him  who  hangs  there  with  courage,  and 
smile  upon  those  sticks  and  that  gibbet  as  the  gates  of 
Heaven.  I  die  confident  in  the  faith  of  the  prophets  and 
apostles,  bearing  my  testimony  to  the  Gospel  as  it  is  now 
preached  by  an  honest  ministry.  I  bear  witness  with  my 
blood  to  the  persecuted  government  of  this  church  in  Gen- 
eral Assemblies,  Synods,  and  Presbyteries."  Then  drawing 
a  ring  from  his  finger,  he  gave  it  to  one  of  his  friends  who 
stood  beside  him  on  the  scaffold,  saying :  "  Take  it  to  my 
wife,  and  tell  her,  '  He  died  in  humble  confidence,  and  found 
the  cross  of  Christ  sweet.'  "  To  some  one  bidding  him 
"  Look  up  to  Christ,"  he  answered  :  "  He  looketh  down  and 
smileth  upon  me."  When  the  cord  was  put  round  his  neck, 
he  said  :  "  Now  I  am  near  my  last,  and  I  desire  to  reflect  on 
no  man :  I  would  only  acquaint  you  of  one  thing.  The 
Commissioner  and  I  went  out  to  the  fields  together  for  one 
cause  ;  I  have  now  the  cord  about  my  neck,  and  he  is  pro- 
moted to  be  his  Majesty's  Commissioner ;  yet,  for  a  thou- 
sand worlds,  I  would  not  change  lots  with  him ;  praise  and 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  237 

glory  be  to  Christ  forever  !"  He  gave  the  signal  and  died. 
He  was  indeed  a  valiant  captain.  "  He  that  ruleth  his  spirit 
is  better  than  he  that  taketh  a  city." 

Other  martyrs  now  followed  to  the  scaffold  these  three 
men, — the  most  illustrious  of  nobles,  the  most  fervent  of 
pastors,  and  the  most  courageous  of  soldiers. 

II. 

THE    DISRUPTION. 

THESE  horrible  executions  were  as  the  exordium  by  which 
it  was  proposed  to  introduce  the  abolition  of  the  freedom 
of  the  church.  Due  warning  having  thus  been  given,  an 
act  was  passed,  in  1662,  for  the  restoration  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  church  by  archbishops  and  bishops.  This  act 
had  at  least  the  merit  of  sincerity.  It  declared  that  "  the 
ordering  and  disposal  of  the  external  government  of  the 
church  doth  properly  belong  to  his  majesty,  as  an  inherent 
right  of  the  crown,  by  virtue  of  his  royal  prerogative  and 
supremacy  in  ecclesiastical  causes."  It  was  not  intimated 
by  this  act,  that  the  church  was  mistaken  in  asserting  her 
independence ;  that  her  claims  were  new,  unheard-of,  or 
monstrous :  on  the  contrary,  it  acknowledged  acts  of  parlia- 
ment by  which  the  sole  and  only  power  and  jurisdiction 
-within  this  church  doth  stand  in  the  church,  and  in  the  Gen- 
eral, Provincial,  and  Presbyterial  Assemblies  and  Kirk  Ses- 
sions." But  this  organization  was  rescinded  and  annulled, 
and  archbishops  and  bishops  substituted,  who  were  "  to  be 
accountable  to  his  majesty  for  their  administrations." 

The  theory  being  thus  settled  by  the  right  of  the  strong- 
est, it  was  necessary  to  put  it  in  practice,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose to  set  up  bishops.  Four  men  went  from  Scotland  to  seek 
ordination  in  London  for  the  successors  of  Laud.  These 
were  Sharp,  a  cunning,  deceitful,  and  ambitious  man,  who 
had  been  the  prime  mover  of  these  alarming  invasions  ;  Fair- 


238  HISTORICAL   RECOLLECTIONS. 

foul,  alike  vain  and  facetious  ;  Hamilton,  a  weak  and  unprin- 
cipled person  ;  and  Robert  Leighton,  one  of  the  most  amiable 
and  pious  of  men,  the  author  of  that  admirable  Commentary  on 
the  First  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  which  will  edify  the  church  to 
the  end  of  time.  It  was  doubtless  hoped  that  so  Christian  a 
man  would  bring  ovei*  many  minds  to  the  system  of  Charles 
II.  In  all  periods,  one  of  the  stratagems  of  the  enemies  of 
the  Gospel  has  been  to  attach  to  their  party  some  pious  and 
respected  individual,  whom  they  use  as  a  bait  to  draw  sim- 
ple souls  within  their  snares.  Yet  another  reflection  pre- 
sents itself,  which  we  will  not  keep  back.  If  Leighton  was 
to  be  found  in  such  ranks,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  in 
the  most  detestable  systems  and  under  the  most  shameful 
yoke,  some  candid  Christian  souls  may  yet  be  found. 

They  began  by  ordaining,  as  deacons  and  priests,  those  of 
the  four  candidates  who  had  only  received  presbyterian  ordi- 
nation, which  they  would  not  recognize ;  then  all  four  were 
consecrated  bishops,  and,  after  the  fashion  of  Charles  II., 
the  day  was  concluded  with  a  feast,  which  shocked  Leigh- 
ton's  pious  feelings.  After  this,  getting  into  the  same  coach, 
the  four  new  prelates  set  out  for  Berwick.  There  Leighton, 
tired  of  the  conversation  of  his  brethren,  and  ashamed  of 
their  society,  left  them,  and  proceeded  alone  to  Edinburgh, 
unwilling  to  submit  to  the  degradation  of  the  pompous  entry 
which  the  rulers  had  prepared.  It  was  not  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  his  Master  had  entered  Jerusalem.  Thus,  the  coach 
of  Prelacy  wanted  one  of  its  four  wheels,  and  the  only  good 
one,  when  it  paraded  the  streets  of  the  Scottish  metropolis. 
This  was  enough  to  make  a  man  forebode  that,  though  it 
now  seemed  to  be  going  on  pretty  smoothly,  it  would  upset 
before  long.  Just  then  it  only  seemed  necessary  to  whip  up 
the  horses  smartly  ;  and  this  the  parliament  and  the  privy 
council  hastened  to  do. 

There  were  at  length  prelates  in  Scotland ;  but  there  were 
also  ministers — many  pious  presbyterian  ministers — deter- 
mined to  receive  from  the  state  no  ecclesiastical  constitution ; 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  239 

more  especially  no  constitution  against  their  conscience  and 
the  laws  of  their  church.  A  collision  between  the  bishops 
and  the  ministers  became  inevitable ;  the  question  was  only 
to  which  side  the  victory  would  incline. 

The  state  proceeded  with  all  speed  ;  and  an  Act  was 
passed  commanding  every  minister  to  repair  punctually  to 
the  diocesan  assemblies  in  which  the  bishops,  whose  number 
had  now  been  increased  to  ten,  were  to  preside  ;  and  declar- 
ing seditious  all  assemblies  held  by  those  ministers  who 
would  not  submit  to  the  prelates.  All  free  meetings  for 
worship  or  prayer  were  prohibited  in  Scotland.  Such,  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  was  the  tyranny  of  Charles  II. 

Among  Charles's  courtiers  was  the  Earl  of  Lauderdale,  a 
deserter  from  presbyterianism  and  from  liberty.  This  noble- 
man was  growing  more  and  more  in  the  king's  favor,  and 
threatened  to  ruin  his  rival,  Middleton.  The  latter  resolved 
to  ward  off  the  blow  by  redoubling  his  zeal  for  enslaving  the 
church.  He,  therefore,  undertook  a  journey  into  the  west- 
ern counties,  and  entered  Glasgow  attended  by  nobles,  offi- 
cers, mace-bearers,  trumpets,  and  drums.  He  was  every- 
where received  with  almost  kingly  honors.  The  Word  of 
God  declares  that  "  a  man  that  transgresseth  by  wine  is  a 
proud  man."  (Hab.  ii.  5.)  It  forbids  bishops,  and  even 
deacons,  to  be  given  to  excess  in  wine.  Nevertheless,  during 
this  tour,  which  was  intended  to  establish  the  prelatic  rule, 
these  sacred  commands  were  quite  forgotten.  "  Such  who 
entertained  the  commissioner  best,"  says  an  historian,  "  had 
their  dining-room,  their  drinking-room,  and  sleeping-room, 
to  which  the  guests  were  carried  when  they  had  lost  their 
senses." — "  Woe  unto  them,"  saith  the  prophet,  "  that  con- 
tinue until  night,  till  wine  inflame  them  !"  It  was  amidst 
such  disgraceful  revelry  that  the  ruin  of  the  church  was 
planned. 

Middleton,  however,  had  to  hear  the  grievous  murmurs 
of  Fairfoul,  archbishop  of  Glasgow.  "  Notwithstanding  the 
act  of  parliament,"  he  complained,  "  not  one  of  the  young 


240  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ministers  entered  since  1649  has  owned  me  as  a  bishop,  or 
attended  my  diocesan  courts.  I  have  only  the  hatred  which 
attends  that  office  in  Scotland,  and  none  of  the  power. 
Your  grace,  therefore,  behooves  to  fall  upon  some  other  and 
more  effectual  methods,  otherwise  the  new-made  bishops 
will  be  mere  ciphers." — "  Propose  what  you  like,"  said  Mid- 
dleton,  "  1  will  heartily  fall  in  with  it." — "  Let  then  the 
council,"  suggested  the  prelate,  "  agree  upon  an  act  and 
proclamation,  peremptorily  banishing  all  these  ministers 
from  their  houses,  parishes,  and  respective  presbyteries,  be- 
twixt this  and  the  1st  of  November  next,  if  they  come  not 
in  to  receive  collation  and  admission  from  their  bishop  : 
and  I  assure  your  Grace,  that  there  will  not  be  ten  in  the 
diocese  who  will  stand  out,  and  lose  their  stipend  for  this 
cause."  Thus  spoke  the  hireling,  imagining  that  all  the 
pastors  of  Christ's  flock  were  like  himself. 

The  council  immediately  assembled  at  Glasgow,  on  the 
1st  of  October.  All  the  members,  except  one,  Sir  James 
Lockhart,  "  were  so  drunk  that  day,"  says  the  English  his- 
torian Burnet,  "  that  they  were  not  capable  of  considering 
any  thing  that  was  laid  before  them."  This  assembly  was 
therefpre  termed  "  the  drunken  meeting."  In  vain  did 
Lockhart  affirm  that  the  act  demanded  by. the  archbishop 
would  throw  the  whole  country  into  disorder  and  desolation  ; 
nothing  is  so  headstrong  and  blind  as  the  man  who  under- 
takes to  persecute  the  church  of  God.  The  act  was  passed. 
The  council  not  only  struck  at  the  pastors,  but  also  decreed, 
that  whosoever  came  to  hear  them,  should  be  punished  as 
frequenters  of  unlawful  conventicles. 

A  great  number  of  ministers,  amounting  to  nearly  four 
hundred,  thus  saw  themselves  placed  in  the  alternative  of 
either  submitting,  as  to  spiritual  things,  to  the  decrees  of 
the  Lord  High  Commissioner  and  his  council,  or  of  sacrific- 
ing their  cures,  their  parishes,  perhaps  their  only  means  of 
subsistence,  and  of  removing  themselves  and  their  families, 
in  the  month  of  November,  with  hearts  filled  with  sadness, 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.     .  241 

and  empty  purses,  in  search  of  some  refuge  from  the  severity 
of  the  king  and  of  the  winter.  They  were  grave  men,  of  en- 
ergetic temper,  whose  very  appearance  commanded  respect. 
They  had  always  been  known  to  be  occupied  in  visiting  their 
parishes,  in  speaking  and  praying  with  their  people,  and 
bringing  them  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures.  Their  min- 
istry had  been  so  blessed,  that  cottagers  and  servants  might 
everywhere  be  met  with,  able  to  lead  worship,  to  read  and 
explain  the  Word,  and  to  pray  extempore  with  great  fervor. 
These  servants  of  God  did  not  hesitate.  Thus  also,  in  early 
times,  in  the  city  of  Antioch,  an  attempt  was  made  to  sub- 
ject the  faithful  to  forms  and  ordinances  contrary  to  the  free 
Gospel  of  Christ.  And  though  even  an  apostle,  Peter  him- 
self, was  among  those  who  attempted  to  bring  the  Christians 
under  an  unlawful  yoke,  they,  with  Paul  at  their  head,  with- 
stood him  to  the  face.  The  Scottish  Presbyterians  did  the 
same.  They  could  not  recognize  in  the  state  the  claims  it  as- 
serted ;  they  could  not,  consistently  Avith  their  consciences, 
take  the  oath  of  canonical  obedience  to  the  bishops.  They 
declared  that  they  were  willing  to  obey  the  law,  and  quitted 
all  they  held  dearest  in  the  world.  '•'  You-demand  either  our 
consciences  or  our  lives,"  said  they  ;  "  take,  then,  our  lives, 
our  consciences  are  enough  for  us." 

This  had  not  been  expected :  it  had  been  thought  that  but 
few  would  be  foolish  enough  to  sacrifice  their  livings  for  the 
sake  of  their  faith  ;  and  now  an  immense  breach  was  made  in 
the  church,  and  unheard-of  troubles  were  threatening  it. 
Accordingly,  when  Middleton  received  this  news  at  the  pal- 
ace of  Holyrood,  he  burst  into  a  dreadful  rage,  and  not  know- 
ing that  the  just  live  by  faith,  exclaimed  with  blasphemous 
oaths,  "  What  will  these  mad  fellows  do  ?" 

It  was  the  last  Sunday  of  October,  1662,  a  dreary  and  dis- 
mal day,  in  which  nature  herself  seemed  to  sympathize  with 
the  sorrow  of  all  hearts.  "  There  was  never  so  sad  a  Sab- 
bath in  Scotland;"  says  an  historian.  All  the  ejected  minis- 
ters that  day  preached  their  farewell  sermon  to  their  flocks. 

11 


242  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

In  many  places,  the  people  were  unable  to  control  their  feel- 
ings,— they  wept,  sobbed,  and  cried  ;  so  that  it  might  have 
been  taken  for  the  lamentations  of  a  town  stormed  and  sacked 
by  an  enemy,  or  the  bitterness  felt  at  the  death  of  a  first- 
born. (Zach.  xii.  10.) 

This  desolation  began  in  the  west,  but  it  soon  spread  to 
the  south  and  the  centre  of  Scotland,  so  that  a  great  extent 
of  country  was  suddenly  deprived  of  comforter,  guide,  and 
worship,  and  left  in  complete  spiritual  destitution. 

The  ministers  quitted  their  much-loved  flocks,  and  most  of 
them  repaired  northwards,  to  the  Highlands  beyond  the  Tay, 
exposing  themselves,  with  their  wives  and  children,  to  all  the 
inclemency  of  a  Scottish  winter.  Their  parishioners  long 
followed  them  with  their  prayers ;  and  when,  at  last,  they 
lost  sight  of  them,  they  gazed  mournfully  on  those  sacred 
walls  which  alone  remained  to  them,  now  no  longer  echoing 
to  the  Word  of  God. 

How  many  affecting  scenes  were  taking  place  in  the  manses 
of  Scotland  !  Among  the  pastors  was  the  grandson  of  John 
Welsh,  called  John  Welsh,  after  him.  At  the  time  of  the 
ejection  he  was  minister  of  Irongray.  Maxwell  was  sent  to 
apprehend  him.  The  whole  parish  came  together ;  men, 
women,  and  children  clung  to  him,  and  followed  him  to  the 
water  of  Cluden.  Welsh,  after  prayer,  mounted  his  horse, 
amidst  the  sobs  and  tears  of  the  multitude,  and  rode  quickly 
away,  but  many  of  his  people  ran  after  him,  rending  the  air 
with  bitter  lamentations. 

John  Blackadder,  of  the  ancient  family  of  Tulliallan,  was 
minister  at  Troqueer,  near  Dumfries.  His  church  was  situat- 
ed on  an  eminence  on  the  banks  of  the  Nith,  commanding  an 
extensive  and  varied  prospect.  The  minister  had  risen  early 
to  seek  communion  with  the  Lord.  The  atmosphere  was 
heavy  and  lowering,  and  a  thick  fog  covered  the  face  of  the 
earth  like  a  gray  mantle.  Blackadder  was  pacing  his  garden 
with  slow  and  pensive  steps:  his  musings  were  often  dis- 
turbed by  the  sound  of  the  morning  bells  ringing  from  the 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  243 

neighboring  parishes.  Those  sacred  accents,  which  had  so 
often  joyfully  summoned  the  faithful  to  preaching  and  to 
prayer,  seemed  to  be  tolling  the  funeral  knell  of  their  expir- 
ing liberties,  and  reminded  Blackadder  and  his  brethren  that 
they  were  to  prepare  to  bid  a  sorrowful  farewell  to  their 
flocks.  He  retired  to  his  study,  to  seek  strength  for  the  ap- 
proaching solemnity.  He  preached  ;  and,  after  the  sermon, 
his  parishioners  expressed  their  determination  to  risk  their 
lives  in  his  defence  ;  but  he  conjured  them  not  to  give  their 
enemies  occasion  to  triumph  over  them.  He  spent  the  fol- 
lowing week  in  visiting  and  comforting  his  hearers,  and  left 
them  on  the  Saturday,  being  unable  to  pass  another  Sunday 
among  them.  The  next  day  the  soldiers  arrived.  One  of 
his  sons,  then  a  child,  has  related  with  great  simplicity  what 
then  took  place.  "  A  party  of  the  king's  guard  of  horse 
came  from  Dumfries  to  Troqueer,  to  search  for  and  appre- 
hend my  father,  but  found  him  not,  for  what  occasion  I  know 
not :  perhaps,  because  he  h.ad  overstayed  the  appointed  day 
which  had  been  fixed  for  him  to  remove  with  his  numerous 
family  of  little  children,  ten  miles  from  the  parish.  So  soon 
as  the  party  entered  the  close,  and  came  into  the  house,  curs- 
ing and  swearing,  we  that  were  children  were  frightened  out 
of  our  little  wits  and  ran  up  stairs :  and  when  I  heard  them 
roaring  in  the  room  below,  like  so  many  breathing  devils,  I 
had  the  childish  curiosity  to  get  down  upon  my  belly,  and 
peep  through  a  hole  in  the  floor  above  them  for  to  see  what 
monsters  of  creatures  they  were ;  and  it  seems  they  were 
monsters  indeed  for  cruelty  ;  for  one  of  them,  perceiving 
what  I  was  doing,  immediately  drew  his  sword  and  thrust  it 
up  where  I  was  peeping,  so  that  the  mark  of  the  point  was 
scarce  an  inch  from  the  hole,  though,  no  thanks  to  the  mur- 
dering ruffian,  who  designed  to  run  it  up  through  my  eye. 
Immediately  after  we  were  forced  to  pack  up,  bag  and  bag- 
gage, and  remove  to  Glencairn,  ten  miles  from  Troqueer. 
We,  who  were  the  children,  were  put  into  cadger's  creels, 
where  one  of '-us  cried  out,  coming  through  Dumfries,  '  I'm 


244  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

banisht,  I'm  banisht!'  One  happened  to  ask,  'Who  has 
banisht  ye,  my  bairn  ?  he  answered,  '  Bite-the-sheep  has 
banisht  me.'  That  was  the  name  the  child  applied  to  the 
bishop." 

Alexander  Peden  had  been  for  three  years  minister  of 
Newluce.  On  the  day  of  his  solemn  departure  he  preached 
in  the  afternoon  upon  these  words  :  "  And  now,  brethren,  I 
commend  you  to  God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace."  (Acts, 
xx.  32.)  All  his  hearers  were  in  tears,  when  he  announced 
to  them  that  they  would  never  see  his  face  again  in  the  flesh. 
He  continued  speaking  until  night.  He  then  left  the  pulpit, 
shut  it,  and,  striking  on  t  the  door  three  heavy  blows,  he  said 
thrice  :  "  I  arrest  thee  in  the  name  of  my  Master ;  and  may- 
est  thou  never  be  opened  but  by  those  who  enter  through 
Him,  who  is  the  true  door,  as  I  have  done."  In  fact,  none 
of  the  curates  (as  they  called  the  successors  of  the  ejected 
pastors),  or  of  the  indulged  ministers,  ever  entered  this 
pulpit ;  it  remained  closed,  according  to  Peden's  words,  till 
the  Revolution  of  1688,  when  a  faithful  Presbyterian  reop- 
ened it. 


III. 


CURATES    AND    GARRISONS. 

ON  the  23rd  of  December  the  council  of  state  assembled 
with  the  president,  Middleton,  at  their  head.  Sensible  of 
the  mistake  they  had  committed,  the  council  consented  to 
farther  delay,  and  continued  the  ministers  who  were  forced 
to  quit  their  parishes  to  the  1st  of  February,  that  they 
might  re-enter  the  national  church,  and  submit  to  the  rule 
of  the  bishops.  Notwithstanding  this  adroit  manoeuvre,  the 
ejections  were  multiplied,  and  a  still  greater  number  of 
churches  were  left  without  pastors. 

This  was  a  sore  deprivation  to  a  country  so  pious  as  Scot- 
land, and  the  hatred  of  the  people  against  the  bishops  who 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  245 

had  caused  this  spiritual  famine,  was  greatly  increased.  The 
faithful  sought  how  they  might  supply  the  places  of  those 
beloved  pastors.  There  were,  in  the  country,  a  few  old 
ministers,  whose  ordination  had  taken  place  at  the  time  when 
bishops  were  established  in  Scotland,  and  who,  having  thus 
obtained  episcopal  sanction,  had  not  been  required  to  present 
themselves  before  the  new  bishops,  and  had,  therefore,  re- 
tained their  places.  Many  of  these  were  pious  men.  People 
came  from  distances  of  twenty  miles  to  hear  them.  Many  also 
of  the  ejected  ministers  were  still  within  reach  of  their  pa- 
rishioners, who  flocked  to  attend  their  family  worship  in  such 
numbers,  that  it  was  generally  requisite  to  leave  the  house 
and  assemble  in  the  open  air. 

It  became  necessary  however  to-  replace  the  ejected  minis- 
ters. "  There  was  a  sort  of  invitation,"  says  the  English 
bishop,  Burnet,  "  sent  over  the  kingdom,  like  a  hue-and-cry, 
to  all  persons  to  accept  of  benefices.  The  livings  were  gen- 
erally well  endowed,  and  the  parsonage-houses  were  well  built, 
and  in  good  repair.  Therefore,"  continues  the  bishop,  who 
certainly  is  a  witness  not  to  be  doubted,  "  this  drew  many 
worthless  persons  thither,  who  had  little  learning,  less  piety, 
and  no  sort  of  discretion.  The  new  incumbents,  who  were 
put  in  the  place  of  the  ejected  preachers,  were  generally  very 
mean  and  despicable  in  all  respects.  They  were  the  worst 
preachers  I  ever  heard  ;  they  were  ignorant  to  a  reproach  ; 
and  many  of  them  were  openly  vicious.  They  were  a  dis- 
grace to  their  orders  and  the  sacred  functions ;  and,  indeed, 
were  the  dregs  and  refuse  of  the  northern  part.  Those  of 
them  who  rose  above  contempt  or  scandal,  were  men  of  such 
violent  tempers,  that  they  were  as  much  hated  as  the  others 
were  despised."  Such  is  the  picture,  certainly  no  flattering 
one,  drawn  by  Bishop  Burnet ! 

These  ministers  were  generally  young  men  from  the  High- 
lands, who  had  scarcely  studied  divinity  a  year ;  and  who, 
having  nothing  to  live  upon,  rushed  into  the  vacant  benefices, 
as  a  shepherd  upon  the  sheep ;  "  but  only  to  shear  them," 


246  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

says  another  historian.  "  Jeroboam,"  said  the  Scotch,  who 
were  well  acquainted  with  the  Bible,  "  Jeroboam  and  his  sons 
having  cast  off  the  Levites,  ordained  himself  priests  for  the 
devils,  and  for  the  calves  which  he  had  made."  (2  Chron. 
xi.  15.)  So  many  of  them  came  down  from  the  wild  parts 
of  Scotland,  that  a  gentleman  of  that  country  began  to  curse 
the  Presbyterian  ministers  heartily  ;  "  for,"  said  he,  "  since 
they  have  been  turned  out,  we  cannot  have  a  lad  to  keep  our 
cows."  These  new  ministers  were  called  curates." 

The  arrival  of  the  curates  in  the  deserted  parishes,  occa- 
sioned scenes  still  more  deplorable  than  those  of  the  depar- 
ture of  the  ministers.  In  many  places  they  were  received 
with  tears  and  entreaties  to  go  away.  In  others  they  were 
welcomed  with  reasoning  and  argument  that  struck  them 
dumb.  Sometimes,  also,  less  patient  people  had  recourse  to 
threats  and  insults.  In  some  places  the  tongue  of  the  bell 
was  taken  away,  that  the  parishioners  might  have  an  excuse 
for  not  going  to  church  ;  in  others,  they  barricaded  the  doors, 
so  that  the  curate  was  forced  to  climb  in  at  the  window. 
"He  that  entereth  not  by  the  door  into  the  sheepfold,"  said 
some  concerning  them,  "  but  climbeth  up  some  other  way, 
the  same  is  a  thief  and  a  robber."  (John,  x.  1.)  On  the 
other  hand,  the  worldly  and  dissolute  of  the  place,  if  there 
were  any  such,  welcomed  the  curates  gladly,  and  invited  them 
to  drink  with  them ;  and  they  frequently  became  intoxica- 
ted in  these  orgies.  This  excited  so  much  indignation,  that 
some  hot-headed  people,  and  particularly  a  number  of  women 
(who  were  always  among  the  most  zealous  of  the  Presbyte- 
rians), proceeded,  in  several  places,  to  oppose  the  entrance 
of  the  curates  by  force.  But,  says  Wodrow :  "  Such  who 
were  really  serious,  mourned  in  secret,  as  doves  in  the  val- 
leys." 

These  receptions  gave  occasion  to  severe  prosecutions. 
Many  were  sentenced  to  heavy  fines,  to  be  scourged  or  ban- 
ished to  America.  At  the  same  time,  the  privy  council, 
which  had  been  taking  lessons  from  Rome,  decreed,  that 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  247 

when  a  bishop  was  to  settle  a  curate  in  a  parish  where  the 
people  were  refractory,  the  bishop  and  the  curate  should  be 
accompanied  with  a  hundred  horsemen  and  two  hundred  foot, 
of  his  majesty's  guards,  to  settle  by  force  the  pastor  of  the 
state ;  that  the  said  horse  and  foot  should  live  at  free  quar- 
ters in  the  parish  ;  or  that  the  parishioners  should  pay  them 
thirty  shillings  (Scotch)  for  each  horseman,  and  twelve  for 
each  footman  per  diem  ;  and  that  these  garrisons  should  sup- 
press by  force  all  free  meetings  held  by  the  faithful.  This 
was  done,  in  1G63,  at  Irongray,  where  Welsh  had  been  min- 
ister. Perhaps  it  was  from  this  that  Louis  XIV.  borrowed 
the  model  of  his  dragonnades.  In  the  present  day  it  is  not 
the  regular  opposition  of  dragoons  that  is  brought  into  use, 
but  popular  tumult  and  violence.  This,  they  say,  is  the  age 
of  progress.* 

But  notwithstanding  this  coersion,  the  people,  who  were 
better  acquainted  with  the  Bible  than  their  ignorant  curates, 
refused  to  hear  the  hirelings  imposed  upon  their  consciences 
by  the  power  of  the  state.  Meetings  in  the  open  air  became 
more  and  more  frequent.  All  who  were  religious,  and  even 
respectable,  throughout  Scotland,  were  in  favor  of  the  ban- 
ished ministers.  I  pause  for  a  moment  to  exhibit  two  pic- 
tures ;  one  may  be  entitled  Before,  the  other,  After. 

This  is  the  picture  presented  by  an  historian  of  Scotland 
before  the  state  undertook  the  government  of  the  church. 
"Every  parish  in  Scotland  had  a  minister,  every  village  a 
school,  every  family,  and,  in  most  places,  every  person,  had 
a  Bible.  Most  part  of  ministers  did  preach  thrice  a  week, 
and  lecture  once,  to  say  nothing  of  catechizing  and  other 
pastoral  duties.  A  minister  could  not  be  easy  himself  with- 
out some  seals  of  his  ministry  in  the  souls  of  his  people,  of 
which  there  were  in  this  period  not  a  few.  One  might  have 
lived  a  good  while  in  many  congregations,  and  rode  through 
much  of  Scotland,  without  hearing  an  oath.  You  could 

*  Alluding  to  what  has  been  going  on  in  the  Canton  de  Vaud  since 
the  disruption  of  1845. 


248  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

scarce  have  lodged  in  a  house  where  God  was  not  worshipped 
by  singing,  reading  the  Word,  and  prayer ;  and  the  public 
houses  were  ready  to  complain  their  trade  was  broke,  every 
body  now  was  become  so  sober." 

Now  look  upon  the  other  picture,  the  companion  to  this, 
representing  the  church  as  administered  by  Charles  II. 
"  Sometimes  in  the  streets  of  Edinburgh  or  Glasgow,  coarse 
oaths  were  heard ;  this  was  from  the  curates.  Instances 
were  sadly  common  of  their  staggering  in  the  streets  and 
wallowing  in  the  gutters,  even  in  their  canonical  habits ;  and 
this  was  conformable  to  Bishop  Wishart's  preaching  publicly, 
'  that  he  was  not  to  be  reckoned  as  a  drunkard  who  was  now 
and  then  overtaken  with  wine  or  strong  liquor,  but  he  only 
who  made  a  trade  of  following  after  strong  liquor.'  The  vile 
practices  of  these  people  cannot  be  mentioned,  and  one  of 
them  was  executed  for  murder." 

At  the  same  time  the  lowest  of  the  populace  employed 
themselves  in  hunting  out,  not  only  the  conventicles,  but 
even  families  celebrating  domestic  worship,  and  disturbed 
them  by  hootings  and  insults.  Women  and  old  men  were 
cruelly  beaten,  and  dragged  either  to  prison  or  to  the  church, 
which  was  the  same  thing  to  them ;  and  hundreds  of  poor 
households  were  dispersed,  and  reduced  to  the  most  fright- 
ful misery. 

Nevertheless,  the  curates  gave  proofs  of  devotedness  and 
zeal ;  not,  it  is  true,  to  their  Lord  in  heaven,  but  to  their 
own  master,  Charles  II.  They  made  out  a  list'  of  the  mem- 
bers of  their  congregation,  not  that  they  might  visit  them — 
this  was  no  business  of  theirs, — but  to  facilitate  the  work  of 
his  Majesty's  guards.  On  Sunday,  after  a  very  short  and 
spiritless  sermon  had  been  delivered,  the  list  was  read  from 
the  pulpit,  and  the  names  of  the  absent  were  marked  with  a 
cross.  The  soldiers  then  made  a  pastoral  visitation,  quar- 
tered themselves  in  the  houses,  and  imposed  fines  on  the 
inhabitants  without  listening  to  any  excuse.  It  sometimes 
happened  that  poor  people,  who  did  attend  the  church,  were 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  249 

punished  because  those  who  had  previously  occupied  their 
lodgings  were  marked  as  absent  in  the  curate's  list.  "  It 
was  our  predecessors,"  said  they. — "  No  matter !  what  is 
written  is  written."  i 

Matters  were  quickly  dispatched.  The  curate  accused 
whomsoever  he  pleased  to  any  of  the  officers,  sometimes  to  a 
mere  private.  The  soldier  acted  as  judge,  heard  no  witness, 
pronounced  the  sentence,  and  then  executed  it,  managing  to 
put  a  good  round  sum  in  his  own  pocket.  These  men,  like 
the  locusts  of  Egypt,  covered  the  face  of  the  country,  and 
devoured  its  substance. 

Sometimes,  on  the  Sunday  morning,  a  great  noise  would 
be  heard  in  the  village  public  house ;  it  proceeded  from  the 
soldiers,  drinking  and  carousing  round  the  tables.  In  this 
village,  some  good  old  minister  might  be  living,  who,  for  rea- 
sons I  have  already  mentioned,  had  been  allowed  to  remain 
at  his  post  without  humbling  himself  to  the  bishop.  Thither 
the  faithful  crowded  from  all  quarters,  and  the  church  would 
be  filled,  which  greatly  enraged  the  bishops  and  their  hire- 
lings. All  at  once  the  soldiers  would  rise  from  table  with 
great  tumult,  take  up  their  arms,  and  run  to  the  church  door, 
a  sentinel  having  come  to  inform  them  that  the  service  was 
nearly  over.  These  satellites  would  then  carefully  guard  all 
the  outlets,  and  make  the  congregation  pass  one  by  one,  like 
sheep  to  be  counted.  "  Do  you  belong  to  this  parish  ?" 
asked  they  of  each  individual,  and  insisted  on  an  answer 
upon  oath.  All  who  did  not  belong  to  the  parish  were  fined, 
and  robbed  of  all  they  had  about  them.  If  these  poor 
Scotchmen  had  no  money,  "  Give  me  your  Bible,"  cried  the 
soldiers  ;  or  else  they  would  take  the  men's  hats  and  coats, 
and  the  women's  caps  and  plaids.  The  military  party  then 
returned  to  their  quarters,  laden  with  spoil,  laughing  and 
blaspheming,  as  if  they  had  been  pillaging  a  town  taken  by 
storm. 

Sometimes  the  soldiers  did  not  wait  for  the  end  of  the  ser- 
vice. One  party  would  stand  at  one  door  of  the  church,  and 
11* 


250  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

another  at  the  other  ;  a  third  then  entered,  interrupted  the 
worship,  and  sometimes  took  to  prison  all  who  were  not 
parishioners.  This  they  would  term  a  good  haul  of  the  drag- 
net. v 


IV. 

TYRANNY   AND   INDULGENCES. 

AT  the  sight  of  all  these  atrocities,  a  cry  of  indignation 
arose  so  loud,  that  it  even  reached  England.  Lord  Lauder- 
dale  profited  by  this  opportunity  to  ruin  his  rival,  Middleton, 
who  had  presided  over  these  tyrannical  scenes.  The  king 
having  ordered  the  suspension  of  the  fines,  the  avaricious 
Middleton  for  some  time  kept  back  his  Majesty's  proclama- 
tion. Lauderdale  therefore  accused  him  to  Charles  of  hav- 
ing violated  the  royal  prerogative.  Middleton  hastily  re- 
paired to  London  :  his  end  was  approaching  ;  the  never-fail- 
ing punishment  of  Heaven  was  about  to  fall  upon  him.  An 
old  country-woman,  seeing  him  pass  by  at  Coldstream,  cried 
out  to  him  :  "  Go  thy  way,  go  thy  way  !  I  tell  thee  thou  shalt 
never  return."  Middleton,  however,  went  forward,  and  the 
king  sent  him  to  Tangier,  where  he  soon  after  died. 

The  management  of  affairs  was  then  intrusted  to  Lauder- 
dale. He  appointed  to  the  Presidency  of  the  Council  Lord 
Tweeddale,  whose  son  had  married  his  daughter,  and  who 
exerted  a  somewhat  conciliatory  influence  ;  #nd  the  Earl 
of  Rothes  was  named  Lord  High  Commissioner.  But  the 
Church  of  Scotland  did  not  gain  by  this.  The  new  govern- 
ment passed  an  act,  sentencing  whosoever  should  absent 
himself  from  the  official  worship  to  a  fine  equal  to  a  quarter 
of  his  income,  besides  corporal  punishment,  as  should  be 
thought  fit.  This  act  was  called  "  The  Bishop's  Drag-net." 
But  the  persecution  of  the  church  was  not  yet  severe  enough 
in  the  eyes  of  Archbishop  Sharp.  He  thought  the  privy 
council  was  deficient  in  zeal  in  the  suppression  of  Presbyte- 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  251 

rianism,  and  would  have  had  that  sect  persecuted  to  the 
death.  He  therefore  obtained  from  the  king,  in  1664,  the 
re-erection  of  the  Court  of  High  Commission,  to  which  all 
causes,  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  were  to  be  referred,  and,  in 
particular,  the  judgment  of  the  ejected  ministers  who  dared 
preach,  and  of  the  faithful  who  dared  listen  to  them.  The 
curates  became  the  agents  and  spies  of  this  inquisitorial  tri- 
bunal, and  Sharp  himself  attended  to  the  proper  working  of 
the  machine.  The  soldiers  undertook  to  lead  the  parish- 
ioners  one  by  one  to  church,  as  galley  slaves  are  driven  to 
hard  labor,  and  all  were  declared  guilty  of  sedition  who 
should  give  relief  to  an  ejected  minister,  were  he  even  dying 
with  want.  It  was  a  saying  of  the  Archbishop  of  Glasgow, 
"The  only  way  to  be  taken  with  these  fanatics,"  (such  was 
the  name  bestowed  upon  them  in  the  proclamations) — "is  to 
starve  them  out  !"* 

They  soon  went  even  farther  than  this.  On  the  13th  of 
November,  1666,  four  countrymen,  who  were  seeking  to  avoid 
the  tyranny  of  this  inquisition,  were  taking  refreshments  in 
the  village  of  Darly  in  Galloway,  when  they  were  informed 
that  some  soldiers  were  cruelly  maltreating  an  old  man, 
with  the  intention  of  making  him  pay  a  ruinous  fine.  They 
hastened  to  the  place,  and  found  the  victim  lying  on  the 
ground,  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  the  soldiers  employed  in 
taking  off  his  clothes,  in  order  to  execute  the  horrible  threat 
they  had  uttered  of  stretching  him  naked  on  a  red-hot  grid- 
iron. At  this  hideous  spectacle,  the  countrymen  uttered  a 
cry,  and  the  soldiers  threw  themselves  on  them  sword  in 
hand :  the  troopers  were  disarmed,  and  one  of  their  number 
was  wounded.  Knowing  the  danger  which  menaced  these 
generous  men,  the  people  of  the  neigborhood  rose  in  arms, 
and  others  soon  joined  them.  But  this  sudden  flame  was 
speedily  quenched  in  torrents  of  blood  on  the  Pentland 
hills. 

*  The  same  expression  has  been  also  used  in  our  own  day,  in  an  of- 
ficial document  of  the  Canton  de  Vaud. 


252  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

A  few  of  the  Scottish  nobles  now  began  to  grow  weary  of 
these  horrors,  and  to  lift  up  the  voice  of  humanity.  An 
order  from  the  king  commanded  the  army  to  be  disbanded, 
with  the  exception  of  the  guards.  The  bishops  and  the 
curates  were  in  consternation ;  and  Burnet,  archbishop  of 
Glasgow,  (whom  we  must  not  confound  with  the  English 
historian,)  exclaimed :  "Alas!  now  that  the  army  is  dis- 
banded, the  Gospel  will  go  out  of  my  diocese." 

Among  the  preachers  who  were  then  persecuted  was 
Hugh  M'Kail,  a  young  man  of  amiable  character,  handsome 
person,  distinguished  talents,  and  holy  life.  He  was  a 
preacher  when  the  400  pastors  were  expelled  from  then- 
livings  ;  and  in  preaching  he  had  said,  that  the  church,  per- 
secuted in  all  ages,  had  always  found  among  its  enemies  a 
"  Pharaoh  on  the  throne,  a  Haman  in  the  state,  and  a  Judas 
in  the  church."  Archbishop  Sharp,  having  heard  of  this 
sermon,  doubted  not  that  he  was  the  Judas  himself,  and  im- 
mediately dispatched  a  party  of  soldiers  to  seize  M'Kail ; 
but  the  latter  fled  to  Holland,  where  he  remained  four  years. 
Returning  to  Scotland  in  1665,  and  finding  affairs  worse 
than  he  had  left  them,  he  led  a  quiet  and  retired  life  in  his 
father's  house.  There,  far  from  the  world,  he  wandered 
among  the  hills,  the  lonely  pastures,  and  the  peaceful  val- 
leys ;  and  alone,  under  the  canopy  of  heaven,  wept  and 
prayed  for  his  unhappy  country.  Soon  after,  the  peasantry 
having  taken  up  arms,  as  before  mentioned,  in  defence  of 
Presbyterianism,  he  joined  them  ;  but  being  of  a  weak  con- 
stitution, he  was  unable  to  endure  the  fatigue,  and  soon  left 
them  to  return  to  his  solitude.  He  was  on  his  way  home, 
when  he  was  seized  by  some  dragoons  at  Braid  Craigs,  and 
brought  to  Edinburgh.  He  was  there  accused  of  rebellion  ; 
and  the  council,  with  the  view  of  extorting  information  which 
the  free  minister  was  unable  to  give,  sent  for  the  executioner, 
and  announced  to  the  prisoner  that  he  was  to  undergo  the 
horrible  torture  of  the  boot.  M'Kail  persisting  in  his  state- 
ment, the  executioner  placed  the  young  preacher's  leg  in 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  253 

this  hideous  instrument,  which  was  a  square  wooden  box, 
with  movable  plates  inside.  He  then  inserted  a  wedge  be- 
tween the  frame  and  the  plates,  which  he  proceeded  to  drive 
in  with  a  mallet,  so  as  to  produce  the  most  excruciating  pain. 
The  members  of  the  council  who,  sitting  in  their  chairs,  were 
coolly  watching  the  horrid  spectacle,  again  summoned  M'Kail 
to  make  the  disclosures  they  required.  It  was  in  vain.  Again 
the  heavy  mallet  descended,  and  blow  after  blow  followed  ; 
the  agony  became  every  moment  more  insupportable,  but 
the  heroic  martyr  still  possessed  his  soul  in  patience.  His 
flesh  was  crushed,  even  to  the  bone.  "  If  all  the  joints  of 
my  body  were  in  as  great  torture  as  that  poor  leg,  I  protest 
before  God,"  said  M'Kail,  "  that  I  can  say  no  more."  The 
blows  recommenced, — the  bone  itself  was  crushed, — the 
martyr  fainted  ;  he  was  carried  back  to  prison,  and  soon  af- 
ter sentenced  to  death. 

On  the  evening  before  his  execution,  after  supper,  the 
preacher  began  to  read  the  16th  Psalm  : — "  The  Lord  him- 
self is  the  portion  of  my  inheritance,  and  my  cup."  "If 
there  is  any  thing  I  regret  leaving  in  this  world,"  said  he,  "it 
is  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures."  He  then  said  to  those 
around  him,  who  were  lamenting  his  death  at  so  early  an 
age :  "  My  sufferings  will  do  more  harm  to  the  prelates,  and 
serve  more  to  the  edifying  of  the  people  of  God,  than  I 
could  do  if  I  were  a  minister  for  twenty  years."  His  life 
was  in  Christ,  and  for  him  to  die  was  gain^  This  faithful 
servant  of  God  ascended  the  ladder  to  the  scaffold,  remark- 
ing with  serenity  :  "  Each  step  in  this  ladder  is  a  degree 
nearer  heaven."  The  crowd  was  enormous :  every  street, 
every  window  was  filled  with  sympathizing  spectators. 
Hearing  the  sobs  of  the  people,  he  said :  "  Your  work  is 
not  to  weep,  but  to  pray ;  and,  that  ye  may  know  what  the 
ground  of  my  encouragement  in  this  work  is,  I  shall  read  to 
you  the  last  chapter  of  the  Bible."  He  then  read  the 
twenty-second  chapter  of  Revelations,  and  added,  "  Here 
you  see  the  glory  that  is  to  be  revealed  to  me ;  a  pure  river 


254  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

of  the  water  of  Nfe,  the  throne  of  God  ancUof  the  Lamb, 
his  servants  that  serve  Him  and  that  see  his  face ;  here  is 
my  access  to  my  glory  and  reward. 

After  the  executioner  had  put  the  rope  about  his  neck, 
M'Kail  said  :  "  And  now  I  leave  off  to  speak  any  more  to 
creatures,  and  begin  my  intercourse  Avith  God,  which  shall 
never  be  broken  off.  Farewell,  father  and  mother,  friends 
and  relations ;  farewell  meat  and  drink ;  farewell  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  !  Welcome  God  and  Father ;  welcome  sweet  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Mediator  of  the  new  Covenant ;  welcome  blessed 
Spirit  of  grace,  the  God  of  all  consolation  ;  welcome  glory, 
welcome  eternal  life,  and  welcome  death  !"  The  soul  of  the 
martry  was  caught  up  to  heaven,  the  22d  of  December,  1666. 
There  is  in  the  words  of  this  sufferer  an  admirable  mixture 
of  the  human  and  divine.  When  he  bids  farewell  to  nature, 
to  his  father,  to  his  mother,  we  seem  to  hear  a  hero  of  an- 
tiquity ;  but  when  he  hails  Jesus,  and  the  everlasting  glory, 
we  soon  recognize  the  disciple  of  Christ.  We  know  of  no 
death  in  which  these  two  elements  are  so  beautifully  united. 

Executions  such  as  these  pleaded  powerfully  in  favor  of 
the  church  and  of  liberty.  In  this  martyr  was  fulfilled  the 
promise  of  the  Word :  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of 
Christ's  sufferings,  happy  are  ye,  for  the  spirit  of  glory  and 
of  God  resteth  upon  you"  (1  Peter,  iv.  14.)  ;  and  the  perse- 
cutors themselves  were  for  an  instant  alarmed. 

Politicians  then  perceived  that  some  concessions  must  be 
made,  and  that  they  must  endeavor  thereby  to  rend  asunder 
the  Presbyterian  cause.  On  the  15th  of  July,  1669,  Tweed- 
dale  presented  to  the  council  a  letter  from  the  king,  which 
was  afterwards  called  the  "  The  First  Indulgence."  This  let- 
ter decreed  that  the  privy-council  should  point  out  a  certain 
number  of  the  ejected  ministers,  "  whose  conduct  had  been 
peaceable  and  orderly,"  to  resume  their  former  places,  or,  if 
they  were  occupied,  to  be  settled  in  others ;  that  if  they 
would  submit  to  the  collation  of  the  bishop,  they  should  also 
receive  the  stipend  of  the  parish,  but  if  they  would  not,  they 


SCOTTISH   STRUGGLES.  255 

should  only  have  the  manse  and  glebe ;  -provided  always, 
that  they  would  attend  the  diocesan  meetings  held  by  the 
prelates. 

This  was  a  concession :  and  accordingly  the  cruel  Sharp 
hastened  to  console  his  friends  by  saying :  "  Never  fear  ;  I 
will  make  this  measure  a  bone  of  contention  to  the  Presby- 
terians." 

Ten  of  the  ejected  ministers  were  comprehended  in  the 
first  indulgence,  which  was  afterwards  extended  to  forty-two. 
All  made  a  sort  of  protestation  against  the  royal  supremacy 
in  ecclesiastical  matters,  but  this  precaution  proved  insuffi- 
cient. These  ministers,  who  were  of  the  weakest,  alleged,  as 
their  motive  for  accepting  the  indulgence,  the  advantages  of 
peace,  and  the  liberty  they  would  enjoy  of  preaching  the 
Gospel.  But  the  result  of  the  measure  was  to  enfeeble  and 
abase  the  church. 

This  advantage  being  gained,  they  quickly  obtained  an- 
other. A  parliament,  which  met  on  the  16th  of  November, 
1669,  passed  an  act,  legalizing  the  power  of  the  state  over 
the  church  (the  Cesaropapia)  in  the  most  unlimited  manner. 
Burnet  thinks  that  Lauderdale,  knowing  the  papistical  opin- 
ions of  the  Duke  of  York,  caused  this  statue  to  be  enacted, 
in  order  that  the  last  of  the  Stuarts,  when  he  should  come 
to  the  throne,  might  establish  Popery  by  a  single  decree. 
The  parliament  declared :  "  That  his  Majesty  hath  the  su- 
preme authority  and  supremacy  over  all  persons,  and  in  all 
causes  ecclesiastical ;  and  that  by  virtue  thereof,  the  order- 
ing and  disposal  of  the  external  government  and  policy  of 
the  Church  doth  properly  belong  to  his  Majesty ;  and  his 
successors  may  settle,  enact,  and  emit  such  constitutions, 
acts,  and  orders,  concerning  the  administration  of  the  exter- 
nal government  of  the  Church,  and  the  persons  employed  in 
the  same,  and  concerning  all  ecclesiastical  meetings,  and 
matters  to  be  proposed  and  determined  therein,  as  they  in 
their  royal  wisdom  shall  see  fit."  This  act  was  the  first 


256  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

which  was  annulled  in  1690,  at  the  Revolution,  as  being  in- 
compatible with  the  settlement  of  chureh  government. 

The  pious  but  short-sighted  Archbishop  Leighton,  who 
still  occupied  the  same  place,  willing  to  bring  the  Presbyte- 
rians to  Episcopacy  by  gentle  means,  obtained,  in  1672,  a 
second  indulgence ;  by  virtue  of  which  some  of  the  ejected 
ministers  were  called  upon  to  serve  in  a  certain  parish,  with- 
out caring  for  the  opinions  of  the  flock  in  the  elections. 
"My  Lord  Chancellor,"  said  Blair,  taking  from  his  hands 
the  paper  which  presented  him  with  a  call  of  this  kind,  "  I 
cannot  be  so  uncivil  as  to  refuse  a  paper  offered  me  by  your 
lordships ;  but,"  he  added,  as  he  let  it  fall,  "  I  can  receive 
no  instructions  from  you  for  regulating  the  exercise  of  my 
ministry ;  for  if  I  should  receive  instructions  from  you,  I 
should  be  your  ambassador,  not  the  ambassador  of  Christ." 
The  courageous  minister  was  sent  to  prison,  where  he  soon 
after  died. 

The  pious  Leighton  himself,  who  had  always  hoped  and 
expected  a  more  Christian  conduct  from  the  state,  seeing,  on 
the  contrary,  that  things  were  going  on  from  bad  to  worse, 
gave  in  his  resignation,  and  retired  to  a  peaceful  retreat  in 
England,  where  he  died  1084.  Good  men  may  for  a  time 
be  liable  to  great  mistakes  ;  but  the  day  will  at  last  arrive, 
when  they  will  understand  that  it  is  impossible  any  longer 
to  be  associated  with  despotism  and  impiety.  "  Be  not  un- 
equally yoked  together  with  unbelievers :  what  concord  hath 
Christ  with  Belial?"  (2  Cor.  vi.  14,  15.) 

V. 

THE    FAINTING    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

THE  Presbyterians,  steadfast  to  their  faith,  and  refusing  to 
connect  themselves  with  the  acts  of  the  government  and  the 
prelates,  often  assembled  in  the  fields.  Lauderdale  waged 
an  incessant  warfare  against  these  conventicles,  letting  loose 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  257 

upon  them  the  Highlanders,  whom  he  had  brought  down 
from  their  mountains,  or  raising  in  other  quarters  a  formidable 
army,  which  he  paid  with  the  money  of  the  Presbyterians 
themselves.  These  meetings,  therefore,  became  less  fre- 
quent, but  also  more  numerously  attended,  and  more  alarm- 
ing. In  order  to  hold  them,  a  strong  position  was  taken 
up,  sentinels  were  posted  in  the  vicinity  to  watch  the  move- 
ments of  the  enemy,  and  give  the  signal  for  flight,  or,  if  that 
was  impossible,  of  open  resistance.  Sometimes  the  people 
met  in  a  narrow  and  solitary  valley,  sometimes  oil  a  wild 
morass;  sometimes  by  day,  sometimes  by  night.  Thus  there 
were  in  the  free  open  air,  as  afterwards  in  the  deserts  of 
Languedoc,  solemn  communions  and  times  of  refreshing ; 
discourses  which  the  ministers  delivered  with  so  much  ar- 
dor that  it  seemed  as  if  their  lips  had  been  touched  with  a 
live  coal  from  the  altar  (Isaiah,  vi.  6.) ;  and  great  multitudes 
experiencing  the  deepest  contrition. 

"  We  offered  to  the  Lord  the  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving," 
says  a  minister  who  often  assisted  at  these  solemnities,  "  and 
sang  with  a  joyful  voice  to  the  Rock  of  our  salvation."  On 
a  sudden,  the  sentinels  who  were  keeping  guard  upon  the 
surrounding  heights  would  give  a  note  of  alarm  ;  the  singing 
ceased,  the  minister  descended  from  the  stone  which  had 
served  him  for  a  pulpit,  and  the  people  dispersed,  "  wander- 
ing in  deserts,  in  mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the 
earth,  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented."  (Heb.  xi.  37,  38.) 

Soon  after  the  general  ejection,  a  curate  had  been  settled 
at  Falkland.  This  man  had,  as  precentor  and  schoolmaster, 
a  native  of  the  place,  named  Richard  Cameron.  The  latter 
began  to  attend  the  field-meetings  of  the  ejected  ministers  : 
he  was  converted,  and  left  all  for  the  sake  of  Christ.  He  fled 
to  Holland,  and  after  studying  for  some  time  was  ordained  to 
the  holy  ministry.  The  Low-Countries  were,  during  the  per- 
secution of  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  what 
Geneva  had  been  in  the  days  of  Knox, — the  home  and  ref- 
uge of  the  children  of  God.  After  his  ordination,  Cameron 


258  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

returned  to  Scotland,  and  immediately  associated  himself 
with  the  strictest  Presbyterians  (to  whom  he  gave  his  name), 
and  who  distinguished  themselves  by  censuring  the  conduct 
of  those  who,  by  compliance,  seemed  to  authorize  the  tyr- 
anny of  the  persecutors.  Cameron  and  his  friends  boldly 
declared  that  they  disowned  all  authority  which  opposed  it- 
self to  the  Word  of  God ;  and,  in  particular,  that  they  would 
not  acknowledge  the  usurpations  of  the  king,  who  assumed 
ecclesiastical  supremacy,  attacked  the  only  lawful  dominion 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  Word,  and  oppressed  His  subjects. 

Cameron  was  blessed  in  his  ministry.  He  always  preached 
as  if  he  was  never  sure  of  preaching  again.  On  the  22d  of 
July,  1681,  happening  to  be  at  a  place  in  Ayrshire,  called 
Aird's  Moss,  he  was  informed  that  a  party  of  soldiers  were 
approaching,  and  that  neither  he  nor  his  friends  could  escape. 
The  Presbyterians  therefore  prepared  for  resistance.  Cam- 
eron uttered  a  short  prayer,  in  which  he  thrice  repeated  this 
simple  and  pious  expression,  "  Lord,  spare  the  green,  and 
take  the  ripe  !"  He  beheld  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  approach- 
ing with  his  sickle  in  his  hand,  preparing  to  reap  the  corn  ; 
and  entreated  him  to  cut  down  those  ears  only  which  were 
ready  to  be  carried  into  the  heavenly  garner.  When  he  had 
ended  his  prayer,  Cameron  said  to  his  brother,  "  Come,  and 
let  us  fight  it  to  the  last ;  for  this  is  the  day  that  I  have 
longed  for,  and  the  death  I  have  prayed  for,  to  die  fighting 
against  the  Lord's  avowed  enemies  ;  and  this  is  the  day  we 
will  get  the  crown."  At  that  moment  the  royal  troops 
charged  the  Presbyterians,  and  Cameron  and  his  brother  fell 
side  by  side.  The  enemy  were  desirous  of  taking  this  dreaded 
minister  prisoner,  in  order  to  deliver  him  up  to  an  ignomin- 
ious death,  but  they  were  disappointed.  To  make  amends 
for  this,  the  dragoons  cut  off  Cameron's  head  and  hands,  and 
carried  them  to  Edinburgh  on  the  point  of  a  halbert.  This 
minister's  father  was  then  in  prison  for  the  cause  of  the  Gos- 
pel. They  carried  to  his  dungeon  these  sad  proofs  of  his 
son's  death,  and  cruelly  asked  if  he  knew  them.  The  old 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  259 

man  took  them  respectfully,  kissed  them,  and  bathing  them 
with  his  tears,  exclaimed,  "  I  know  them, — I  know  them  : 
they  are  my  son's, — my  dear  son's.  Good  is  the  will  of  the 
Lord,  who  cannot  wrong  me  nor  mine  !"  These  remains  of 
Cameron  were  exposed  on  one  of  the  city  gates,  the  hands 
placed  near  the  head,  and  the  fingers  pointing  towards 
heaven  in  the  attitude  of  prayer.  His  headless  body  was 
thrown  into  a  grave  at  Aird's  Moss,  on  a  verdant  hill,  where 
a  plain  monumental  stone  points  out  the  martyr's  burial- 
place.  He  had  experienced  the  truth  of  that  saying  ad- 
dressed by  the  Master  to  an  imprudent  disciple,  who,  like 
Cameron,  desired  to  take  up  the  sword :  "  All  they  that  take 
the  sword  shall  perish  with  the  sword."  (Matt.  xxvi.  52.) 

All  was  now  tending  towards  popery.  The  Duke  of  York, 
heir  presumptive  to  the  crown,  had  for  some  years  discon- 
tinued communicating  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  even  when 
bishops  administered  it :  he  required  the  Mass.  It  was 
also  becoming  more  and  more  customary  in  England,  to  re- 
gard the  abjuration  of  the  Gospel,  and  submission  to  the 
Pope,  as  the  proper  and  fashionable  mode  of  dying.  In  1673 
the  Duke  of  York  married  the  Princess  of  Modena,  a  mem- 
ber of  a  family  devoted  to  Rome.  It  was  already  reported 
that  the  Pope  had,  by  a  bull,  appointed  the  future  bishops 
of  Britain.  Papists  filled  the  court.  The  agitation  aug- 
mented day  by  day  among  the  people.  "  One  would  have 
thought,"  observes  a  contemporary,  "  that  a  dreadful  comet 
had  appeared  in  the  sky." 

These  things  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  order  to  understand 
the  nature  of  the  terrible  struggles  then  going  on  in  Scot- 
land. Although  the  State  and  Prelacy  were  apparently  the 
only  oppressors,  Popery  was  hidden  behind  them. 

The  resistance  to  Popery  had  become  so  vigorous  in  Eng- 
land, that  it  was  thought  desirable  to  send  the  Duke  of  York 
for  a  time  to  a  distance  from  London.  This  prince,  who 
afterwards  reigned  by  the  title  of  James  II.,  arrived  in  Scot- 
land in  1681,  the  year  of  Cameron's  death,  and  undertook 


260  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

the  management  of  public  affairs.  It  was  then  plainly  shown 
what  treatment  James  had  in  reserve  for  England,  if  he  had 
been  allowed  to  go  on  as  he  pleased.  His  influence  in  Scot- 
land was  marked  by  increased  severity  against  the  evangel- 
ical Christians.  One  of  these,  a  layman  named  Spreul,  Avas 
accused  before  the  council  over  which  the  prince  presided, 
and  frankly  confessed  his  opinions.  No  sort  of  calumny  was 
spared  at  that  time  against  the  reformed  Christians ;  and  a 
novelist  of  great  celebrity,  who  has  shown,  in  his  writings, 
that  he  was  a  stranger  to  the  Christian  spirit,  has  in  our  own 
day  echoed  these  groundless  charges.  The  justification 
which  Spreul  pronounced  in  the  presence  of  the  royal  duke 
may  be  considered  as  the  justification  of  all  his  brethren. 
"  Whereas  I  am  sadly  accused  to  your  lordships,  as  if  I  were 
a  man  of  king-killing  principles,  I  declare  I  would  kill  no 
man  whatsoever,  but  upon  self-defence,  which  the  law  of 
God  and  of  nature  allows.  I  own  the  free  preaching  of  the 
Gospel,  whether  in  the  fields  or  houses,  seeing  it  is  written, 
'  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God,  and  faith  com- 
eth  by  hearing.'  I  also  own  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only  Head 
of  his  church,  and  King  of  saints,  and  disown  all  others  pre- 
tending thereto." 

Spreul  did  still  more :  he  retorted  the  accusation  of  regi- 
cide principles  upon  those  who  had  made  them.  As  the  Duke 
of  York  rose  from  his  throne  and  said  to  him,  with  a  frown, 
"  Sir,  would  you  kill  the  king  ?"  the  astonished  Christian 
paused  a  moment ;  and  then  turning  towards  the  Chancellor 
(he  was  fearful  of  offending  the  Roman  Catholic  prince,  by 
addressing  this  answer  to  him),  he  replied  ;  "  My  lord,  I 
bless  God  I  am  no  Papist.  I  loathe  and  abhor  all  those 
Jesuitical,  bloody,  and  murdering  principles  :  neither  my  pa- 
rents, nor  the  ministers  I  heard,  ever  taught  me  such  princi- 
ples." Spreul  was  condemned  to  the  torture  of  the  boot. 
When  this  instrument  was  applied  most  of  the  nobles  and 
judges  present  retired,  that  they  might  not  witness  it.  This 
was  not  the  case  with  the  Duke  of  York,  who  remained,  and 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  261 

watched  his  victim's  agonies  with  cruel  eyes.  The  English 
bishop,  Burnet,  says,  "  he  looked  on  all  the  while  with  un- 
moved indifference,  and  with  an  attention  as  if  he  had  been 
to  look  upon  some  curious  experiment."* 

These  cruelties  were  not  without  effect.  There  was  a 
great  dearth  throughout  Scotland.  "  The  Word  of  the  Lord 
was  rare  in  those  days."  (1  Sam.  iii.  1.)  The  dragoons 
scoured  the  country,  and  the  faithful,  "  of  whom  the  world 
was  not  worthy,"  were  wandering  in  the  deserts. 

After  the  death  of  Cameron,  Donald  Cargill  was  for  some 
time  almost  the  only  minister  who  dared  preach  in  the  fields. 
"  The  blood-stained  banner,"  says  an  historian,  "  which  fell 
from  Cameron's  dying  hand,  was  caught  up  and  borne  aloft 
by  Cargill  with  unshrinking  resolution."  He  preached  boldly 
to  his  countrymen  Jesus  Christ  crucified.  Perhaps  he  went 
too  far.  Persecution  generally  excites  the  persecuted  ;  and 
the  persecutors  and  the  worldly-minded  then  coldly  and 
meanly  reproach  them  with  their  excitement.  Cargill,  the 
only  representative  of  the  Scottish  Presbyterianism,  as  if  he 
himself  had  been  a  whole  synod,  a  whole  general  assembly, 
filled  with  horror  at  the  persecutions  of  his  people  and  his 
faith,  at  a  field-preaching  at  Torwood,  in  Stirlingshire  (Sep- 
tember 1680),  solemnly  pronounced  sentence  of  excommuni- 
cation against  the  king,  his  brother,  the  Papist  Duke  of  York, 
and  five  of  the  chief  lords  who  oppressed  Scotland,  among 
whom  was  the  Duke  of  Rothes.  This  sentence,  after  all, 
signified  but  little.  The  king  and  his  brother  cared  not  for 
the  Presbyterian  communion,  and  greatly  preferred  that  of 
the  Pope.  Yet,  however  exaggerated  Cargill's  proceedings 
may  have  been,  we  cannot  help  acknowledging  in  them  great 
courage  and  fidelity. 

He  had  spoken  out.     As  a  "  watchman  of  the  house  of 

Israel,"  he  had  "  warned  the   wicked  from  his  evil  way," 

(Ezek.  iii.  18.)  ;  and  it  was  not  wholly  in  vain.     The  Duke 

of  Rothes,  one  of  the  excommunicated,  having  fallen  danger- 

*  Burnet's  Own  Times,  ii.  p.  424. 


262  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ously  ill  a  few  months  afterwards,  sent  for  some  Presbyterian 
ministers.  The  Word  pronounced  in  the  Avilderness  of  Stir- 
lingshire, like  that  which  was  uttered  in  the  wilderness  of 
Judea  by  the  prophet  in  the  raiment  of  camel's  hair,  with  the 
leathern  girdle,  weighed  upon  the  consciences  of  the  rulers  of 
the  people.  "  We  all  thought  little  of  what  that  man  did  in 
excommunicating  us,"  said  the  dying  duke,  "but  I  find  that 
sentence  binding  upon  me  now,  and  it  will,  I  fear,  bind  me 
to  all  eternity."  One  of  the  evangelical  ministers,  moved 
with  compassion  for  the  sinner,  who  had  so  long,  as  Lord 
High  Commissioner,  been  at  the  head  of  the  persecution  of 
his  people,  then  declared  to  the  agonized  and  terrified  duke, 
the  expiation  of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  "  which  cleanseth 
from  all  sin,"  and  fervently  prayed  for  repentance  and  faith 
for  the  dying  nobleman.  In  the  adjoining  room  were  sev- 
eral lords  and  bishops.  Hearing  the  voice  of  prayer,  they 
broke  off  their  conversation,  and  there  was  a  moment  of 
silence.  They  were  astonished :  "  That  is  a  Presbyterian 
minister  praying,"  said  one  of  the  noblemen  ;  and  then,  turn- 
ing to  the  bishops,  he  added  :  "  there  is  not  one  of  you  can 
pray  as  they  do,  though  the  welfare  of  a  man's  soul  should 
depend  upon  it." — "  We  banish  these  men  from  us," — said 
the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  "  and  yet,  when  dying,  we  call  for 
them."  Happy  is  the  persecutor  and  blasphemer  who,  like 
the  royal  commissioner,  calls  for  the  Word  of  God ;  or, 
rather,  whom  the  Word  of  God  seeks  out,  were  it  even  at  the 
eleventh  hour ! 


VI. 

THE    KILLING   TIME. 

No  king  ever  had  ministers  and  servants  so  ready  to  sa- 
crifice their  lives  for  him,  as  Jesus  Christ  had,  at  that  time, 
in  Scotland.  No  crown  was  ever  so  steadfastly  upheld  by 
its  subjects. 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  263 

The  persecution  was  not  confined  to  the  ministers  only, 
but  extended  also  to  their  hearers,  and  even  to  women. 
Two  young  persons,  Isabel  Alison  and  Marion  Harvie,  were 
accused  of  having  been  present  at  Cargill's  field  preachings. 
Marion  was  a  young  girl  of  twenty.  "  At  fourteen  or  fif- 
teen," she  said  to  her  judge,  "  I  was  a  hearer  of  the  curates, 
and  then  I  was  a  blasphemer,  and  a  chapter  of  the  Bible 
was  a  burden  to  me." — "  I  bless  God,  Isabel,"  she  remarked 
to  her  friend,  "  that  He  has  given  me  life  that  I  may  lay  it 
down  for  his  name's  sake.  If  I  could  live  a  thousand  years 
by  forsaking  the  truths  of  the  Gqspel,  I  would  not  give  up 
one."  When  led  to  the  scaffold,  these  two  Christian  maid- 
ens sang  the  23d  Psalm,  '•  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd ;"  and 
the  84th— 

"  How  lovely  is  thy  dwelling  place, 

O  Lord  of  Hosts,  to  me ; 
My  very  heart  and  flesh  cry  out, 
O  living  God,  for  thee !'' 

When  about  to  be  executed,  Marion  Harvie,  wishing  to 
testify  what  was  the  faith  for  which  she  was  to  lay  down 
her  life — the  doctrine  of  the  true  Head  of  the  church — ex- 
claimed :  "  I  am  brought  hither  this  day  for  having  con- 
fessed, as  I  still  do,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  King  of  Sion, 
and  the  Head  of  his  people  !"  After  this  she  died,  on  the 
26th  of  January,  1681.  Thus  did  country  girls  in  Scotland 
feel  themselves  called  upon  to  maintain  the  same  truth  as 
the  doctors  and  leaders  of  the  flocks. 

A  more  noted  victim  was  now  to  fall  by  this  persecution. 
Cargill,  hunted  from  place  to  place,  was  still  preaching  in 
the  most  secluded  districts.  For  this  purpose  he  often  had 
to  take  long  and  painful  journeys.  One  Sunday,  having 
walked  all  the  morning  to  reach  the  place  where  the  people 
were  to  assemble  at  Tinto  Hill,  he  arrived  fatigued,  thirsty, 
and  almost  fainting.  An  old  man,  coming  from  the  crowd, 
offered  him,  in  his  blue  bonnet,  a  little  cold  water  from  a 


264  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

neighboring  spring.  The  minister  drank  it,  and,  without 
any  other  refreshment,  preached  the  whole  day.  On  the 
10th  of  July  he  proclaimed  the  Gospel  at  Dunsyre  Common, 
and  slept  at  Covington  Mill.  But  his  enemies  were  on  the 
watch  v  At  daybreak  a  troop  of  dragoons  surrounded  the 
mill,  seized  the  preacher,  and  carried  him  to  Edinburgh, 
where,  being  led  before  the  council,  he  was  condemned  to 
death.  "I  am,"  said  he,  "a  Christian,  a  Protestant,  a 
Presbyterian ;  and  I  die  testifying  against  Popery,  Prelacy, 
Erastianism,  and  all  manner  of  defection  from  the  truth  of 
God."  When  led  to  the»scaffold,  he  approached  the  cord 
by  which  he  was  to  be  hanged,  and  declared  that  he  went 
up  the  ladder  with  less  fear  and  perturbation  of  mind  than 
ever  he  entered  the  pulpit  to  preach  the  Word  of  God  to 
sinners.  "  I  am  no  more  terrified  at  death,  nor  afraid  of 
hell,  because  of  sin,  than  if  I  had  never  had  sin ;  for  all  my 
sins  are  freely  pardoned  and  washed  away,  through  the 
precious  blood  and  intercession  of  Jesus  Christ."  Sweet 
Christian  words  !  It  was  on  the  27th  of  July,  1681,  that 
he  sealed  with  his  blood  the  testimony  he  had  borne  to 
Jesus,  the  only  King  of  the  Church. 

Cargill  was  no  more.  There  was  now  no  one  left  who 
preached  in  the  fields.  "  The  wise  men  had  rejected  the 
Word  of  the  Lord,"  (Jer.  viii.  9.)  The  persecution  there- 
fore ceased  for  a  while,  but  in  1684  began  the  sanguinary 
period  called,  in  Scotland,  "the  killing  time;"  and,  in  1685, 
the  Papist,  James  II.,  having  succeeded  his  brother  Charles, 
the  desolation  of  the  people  of  God  increased  yet  more  and 
more.  They  were  hunted  like  wild  beasts  among  moors, 
mountains,  and  rugged  rocks.  In  vain  they  passed  the 
night,  lying  on  wild  heaths,  under  the  vault  of  heaven,  or 
cooped  up  in  the  natural  caverns  among  the  rocks  ;  no  re- 
treat was  sufficiently  secure,  sufficiently  retired,  to  shelter 
them  from  the  cruel  search  of  their  enemies.  Everywhere 
they  encountered  spies,  betrayers,  and  murderers.  The  enemy 
said,  as  once  did  Pharaoh,  "  I  will  pursue,  I  will  overtake,  I 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  265 

will  divide  the  spoil ;  my  lust  shall  be  satisfied  upon  them  ; 
I  will  draw  my  sword,  my  hand  shall  destroy  them."  (Exod. 
xv.  9.) 

Driven  to  the  utmost  extremity,  these  unhappy  people 
raised  a  cry  of  distress.  "  Did  not  the  Lord,"  thought  they, 
"  blow  with  his  wind  against  the  enemies  of  his  chosen  ones, 
and  they  sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters  ?"  On  the  18th 
October,  1684,  they  posted  up  in  many  of  the  market-places 
of  Scotland  a  solemn  declaration,  recounting  their  sufferings, 
and  expressing  their  abhorrence  of  the  principle  by  which  it 
was  thought  right  to  put  to  death  those  who  differed  in  opin- 
ion from  their  murderers ;  and  declaring,  that  for  the  sake 
of  their  own  defence,  they  reputed  as  enemies,  and  would 
pursue  as  such,  whosoever  should  proceed  against  them,  es- 
pecially as  spies  and  informers. 

The  curates  and  their  vile  emissaries  then  relented  a  little 
in  their  proceedings  ;  but  the  privy  council,  incensed  to  the 
last  degree,  passed  on  the  22d  of  November,  "  The  Bloody 
Act,"  by  virtue  of  which,  whosoever  would  not  disown  this 
daclaration  should  immediately  be  put  to  death. 

The  persecution  then  raged  more  violently  than  ever.  One 
day,  two  women,  Margaret  M'Lauchlan,  a  widow  of  sixty- 
three,  and  Margaret  Wilson,  a  girl  of  eighteen,  were  praying 
together  at  Wigton,  in  Galloway.  Margaret  Wilson,  her 
brother  Thomas,  aged  sixteen,  and  her  sister  Agnes,  aged 
thirteen,  had  been  obliged  to  leave  their  father's  farm  to 
avoid  submission  to  the  prelates,  and  had  concealed  them- 
selves for  some  time  in  the  moors.  They  had  left  these 
wilds,  and  taken  refuge  with  the  widow  M'Lauchlan,  when 
they  were  apprehended  while  committing  the  crime  of  pray- 
ing. The  old  woman  and  the  young  girl  were  tried  and  con- 
demned to  death,  and  for  their  execution  a  torture  of  a  spe- 
cial kind  was  chosen.  Near  Blednock,  two  large  stakes  were 
driven  into  the  sea,  a  few  paces  from  the  shore  ;  and  at  low 
water  the  two  women  we:?  'led  to  them,  care  being  taken  to 
place  the  young  girl  higher  than  the  widow,  that  she  might 

12 


266  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

perish  the  last,  and  thus  witness  the  death  of  her  aged  friend. 
When  this  was  done,  the  soldiers  stood  on  the  shore,  care- 
lessly leaning  on  their  halberts,  and  surrounded  by  a  great 
crowd  of  people,  waiting  until  the  rising  tide,  that  new  exe- 
cutioner of  the  vengeance  of  the  prelates  and  the  privy 
council,  should  slowly  ingulf  these  sainted  victims.  Soon, 
indeed,  did  the  waves  roll  onwards,  and,  in  the  sight  of  the 
young  girl,  they  slowly  but  inevitably  rose  and  covered  the 
body  of  the  Christian  widow.  One  after  another  they  covered 
her  limbs,  her  bosom,  her  neck,  her  lips.  By  this  means  it  was 
intended  to  terrify  Margaret  Wilson,  and  subdue  her.  But, 
looking  serenely  upon  her  venerable  friend,  she  exclaimed, 
"  What  do  I  see  but  Christ  in  one  of  his  members,  wrestling 
there  ?  Think  you  that  we  are  the  sufferers  ?  No :  it  is 
Christ  in  us ;  for  He  sends  none  a  warfare  on  their  own 
charges."  The  Christian  maiden  thus  continued  praying  and 
witnessing  for  Christ,  while  the  cold  and  cruel  waves  were 
rising  round  her  own  body.  She  then  began  to  sing  the 
25th  Psalm,  "  To  thee  I  lift  my  soul,  O  Lord ;"  and  after- 
wards part  of  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, "Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of  God's 
elect?  It  is  God  that  justifieth.  Who  is  he  that  condemn- 
eth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died ;"  and  some  verses  following. 
She  thus  continued  speaking  until  the  ocean  covered  her 
head  and  choked  her  utterance.  Her  torturers  then  ran  to- 
wards her,  and,  while  she  was  yet  breathing,  cut  the  cords, 
and  drew  the  young  Scoth  girl  from  the  waves.  They  laid 
her  on  the  shore,  and  waited  till  she  was  restored  to  con- 
sciousness. On  being  asked  if  she  would  not  pray  for  the 
king,  she  replied :  "  I  wish  the  salvation  of  all  men,  and  the 
damnation  of  none." — "  Dear  Margaret,"  cried  one  of  the 
spectators  with  emotion,  "  only  sa)7,  God  save  the  king !" 
She  answered  calmly,  as  one  who  neither  wished  for  life  nor 
feared  death :  "  God  save  him,  if  He  will,  for  it  is  his  salva- 
tion I  desire."  Her  relations  and  friends,  in  a  transport  of 
joy,  turned  quickly  to  Major  Windram,  who  superintended 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  267 

the  execution,  "  Oh,  Sir,  she  has  said  it,  she  has  said  it !" 
But  the  major  required  her  to  take  the  abjuration  oath,  in 
which  the  papist,  James  II.,  was  to  be  acknowledged  as 
the  head  of  the  church.  Firm  in  her  faith,  she  replied  : 
"  I  will  not.  I  am  one  of  Christ's  children.  Let  me  go  !  " 
The  soldiers  again  threw  her  into  the  sea,  where  she  per- 
ished, and  entered,  at  last,  into  the  rest  that  remaineth  to 
the  people  of  God. 

But  this  was  not  the  end.  Persecution  sought  out  the 
most  sober  Christians.  At  Priesthill,  in  Ayrshire,  lived  a 
plain  and  pious  man,  John  Brown  by  name,  who  earned  his 
living  by  the  occupation  of  a  carrier.  Although  he  had 
never  openly  resisted  the  state,  he  was  hated  by  the  prelatic 
party,  on  account  of  his  attachment  to  evangelical  princi- 
ples. His  solitary  cottage  had  sometimes  sheltered  a  perse- 
cuted minister  ;  he  did  not  attend  the  service  of  the  curates ; 
and  on  Sunday  evening  he  would  assemble  a  few  children  to 
instruct  them  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Bible.  This  school, 
in  that  lonely  part  of  Scotland,  was  the  first  of  the  Sunday 
schools  in  Britain,  and  perhaps  in  the  evangelical  world. 
Brown  had  preceded  Raikes. 

Claverhouse,  whom  Walter  Scott  has  transformed  into  a 
hero,  but  who  in  history  is  nothing  but  a  man  of  violence 
and  a  persecutor,  seeing  the  fidelity  of  this  Christian,  vowed 
his  destruction.  On  the  1st  of  May,  1685,  Brown  having 
just  celebrated  domestic  worship,  between  six  and  seven  in 
the  morning,  was  on  his  way  to  work,  when  three  troops  of 
dragoons  came  galloping  towards  him,  with  Claverhouse  at 
their  head.  They  brought  him  back  to  his  house,  saying  to 
him  :  "  Go  to  your  prayers,  for  you  shall  immediately  die." 
He  knelt  down  upon  the  heath,  and  prayed  aloud  with  so 
much  fervor  that  the  soldiers  were  quite  affected.  Thrice 
did  the  impatient  Claverhouse  interrupt  him,  saying :  "  I  gave 
you  time  to  pray,  and  ye  have  begun  to  preach."  During 
this  interval,  Brown's  wife,  hearing  a  noise,  had  come  out  of 
her  cottage,  carrying  an  infant  in  her  arms,  and  a  little  girl, 


268  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

frightened  at  the  sight  of  the  soldiers,  clinging  to  her  gown. 
"  Take  good  night  of  your  wife  and  children,"  said  Claver- 
house.  Turning  to  his  wife,  he  said :  "  Now,  Isabel,  the 
day  is  come  that  I  told  you  would  come,  when  I  spake  first 
to  you  of  marrying  me."  "  Indeed,  John,"  she  answered, 
"  in  this  cause  I  am  willing  to  part  with  you."  Brown  then 
kissed  his  wife  and  children,  and  Claverhouse  commanded 
his  troopers  to  fire.  But  the  martyr's  prayers  had  touched 
the  hard  hearts  of  the  soldiers  of  the  papist  James  :  they  re- 
fused to  act  the  part  of  executioners,  to  which,  however,  they 
were  well  accustomed.  Walter  Scott's  hero,  enraged  at 
this,  took  a  pistol  from  his  saddle-bow,  and  at  once  shot 
dead  the  disciple  of  Jesus.  Then  turning  to  her  whom  he 
had  just  made  a  widow,  he  said,  in  a  tone  of  mockery : 
"  What  thinkest  thou  of  thy  husband  now,  woman  ?"  Isabel 
replied,  "  I  ever  thought  much  of  him,  and  more  now  than 
ever."  Claverhouse  set  spurs  to  his  horse,  and  the  horror- 
struck  dragoons  galloped  off  after  him,  leaving  Isabel  alone 
with  the  corpse.  She  laid  her  infant  on  the  ground,  gath- 
ered the  scattered  brains  of  her  beloved  husband,  and  taking 
the  handkerchief  from  her  neck,  bound  up  the  head,  which 
had  been  shattered  to  pieces  by  the  Jacobite's  pistol.  Then 
laying  out  his  lifeless  body,  she  covered  it  with  her  plaid, 
and  sat  down  beside  it,  with  her  baby  on  her  lap  ;  and 
clasping  in  her  arms  the  little  girl,  who  filled  the  air  with  her 
cries,  she  herself  burst  into  tears.  On  that  desert  spot,  there 
was  not  a  neighbor,  not  a  friend  to  assuage  the  widow's 
sorrows.  Amidst  this  desolation  of  the  wild  heath  and  of 
death,  she  had  none  with  her  but  her  God  ;  but  He  was  a 
present  God,  and  his  might  gave  strength  to  her  heart. 

Claverhouse,  yet  breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter 
against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,"  (Acts  ix.  1,)  overran  other 
countries.  Persecution  was  raging  everywhere.  If  the  sol- 
diers found  a  man  reading  the  Word  in  the  fields :  "  Thou 
art  a  rebel,"  said  they :  "  thou  art  reading  the  Bible !"  and 
thereupon  they  killed  him.  They  threatened  little  children 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  269 

that  they  woulH  roast  them  alive,  to  make  them  tell  where 
their  parents  were  concealed.  Four  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  Christians  thus  perished  without  form  of  law.  Eigh- 
teen hundred  had  to  endure  torture  of  different  kinds.  Seven- 
teen hundred  were  banished.  Great  numbers  were  sent  to  the 
colonies  as  slaves,  and  two  hundred  of  these  were  drowned. 
But  nothing  could  subdue  the  fortitude  of  the  martyrs.  One 
of  them,  who  was  shot  in  the  fields,  exclaimed  :  "  If  I  had  as 
many  lives  as  hairs  on  my  head,  I  would  willingly  suffer  as 
many  deaths  for  the  sake  of  Christ  and  his  cause."  "  They 
were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance,  that  they  might 
obtain  a  better  resurrection ;  and  others  had  trial  of  cruel 
mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover,  of  bonds  and  im- 
prisonment :  they  wandered  about,  destitute,  afflicted,  tor- 
mented. Yet  they  ran  with  patience  the  race  set  before 
them,  looking  unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  their 
faith."  (Heb.  xi.  35,  36  ;  xii.  1,  2.) 

The  king  thought  that  the  country  was  now  prepared  for 
the  change  he  had  in  view.  Regarding  the  Presbyterian 
Church  as  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  restoration  of  Popery, 
he  had  directed  every  effort  against  it.  He  imagined,  that 
when  once  Episcopacy  was  set  up  in  the  place  of  Presbyte- 
rianism,  both  bishops  and  church  would  willingly  submit  to 
the  Pope.  He  was  mistaken,  at  least  in  England.  The 
majority  of  the  English  Episcopalians  were  good  Protestants, 
determined  to  resist  Rome  and  her  hierarchy. 

James  II.,  nevertheless,  was  advancing,  step  by  step,  to- 
wards Popery.  He  exempted  the  Papists  from  the  Test, 
which  was  still  required  from  the  Presbyterians.  He  abol- 
ished the  penalties  and  disabilities  to  which  the  partisans  of 
the  Pope  had  been  subjected,  (an  act  which  from  another 
prince  would  have  had  quite  a  different  meaning,)  and  ut- 
tered in  parliament  a  eulogium  on  their  loyalty,  and  other 
virtues. 

At  the  same  time  (this  was  in  1686)  the  revocation  of  the 
edict  of  Nantes  was  taking  place  in  France,  and  filling  all  the 


270  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

Protestants  of  Europe  with  horror  at  the  Papacy.  Amidst 
these  agitations,  on  the  21st  of  August,  the  king,  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  the  privy-council  of  Scotland,  ordered  the  Popish 
worship  to  be  set  up  in  the  chapel  of  Holyrood,  and  ap- 
pointed the  chaplains  who  were  to  perform  it. 

All  now  seemed  prepared  for  the  work  of  darkness  in- 
tended by  the  pontifical  sectarian  then  seated  on  the  throne 
of  Elizabeth.  Most  of  the  witnesses  for  the  truth  had  dis- 
appeared. The  sword,  the  gallows,  torture,  hardships,  exile, 
and  the  call  of  God,  had  swept  them  from  the  land.  There 
now  remained  but  a  few  lights,  glimmering  here  and  there 
through  the  darkness,  which  the  hand  of  death  was  about  to 
quench  forever. 

The  friend  of  Cameron,  that  Alexander  Peden,  who  at  New 
Glenluce  had  shut  his  pulpit,  was  still  alive.  After  leaving 
his  church,  the  pulpit  of  which  remained  closed,  he  had 
wandered  over  the  wilds  of  Scotland,  but  without  preaching. 
From  time  to  time  his  mouth  gave  utterance  to  some  mys- 
terious and  significant  sentences  only,  which  led  to  his  pas- 
sing for  a  prophet  with  many.  "Pray  much,"  said  he  to 
those  who  entreated  him  to  preach,  "  it  is  only  a  praying 
people  that  will  weather  the  storm.  Fearful  days  are  coming 
on  Scotland,  and  my  heart  fails  me  when  I  think  of  the  judg- 
ments about  to  fall  on  those  hirelings  whose  words  kill  the 
soul.  O  Scotland,  Scotland  !  must  it  be  that  some  of  thy 
ministers  should  consent  to  take  the  crown  from  Christ's 
head  ?" 

One  day  Peden  went  to  Aird's  Moss  ;  he  climbed  the  hil- 
lock on  which  stood  the  grave  of  his  friend  Richard  Came- 
ron ;  and,  exhausted  by  his  sufferings,  sat  down  beside  the 
tomb,  clasped  his  hands  over  the  stone,  raised  his  tearful  eyes 
to  heaven,  and  exclamed  repeatedly  :  "  0  that  I  were  with 
thee,  Richard  !"  He  groaned,  "  earnestly  desiring  to  be 
clothed  upon  with  his  house  which  is  from  heaven."  (2  Cor. 
v.  2.)  After  long  wandering  from  place  to  place,  Peden, 
feeling  the  time  approaching  when  his  "  earthly  tabernacle 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  271 

should  be  dissolved,"  and  he  should  be  transported  to  "a 
house  eternal  in  the  heavens,"  returned  to  his  brother's  house 
in  his  native  village,  where  he  caused  a  cave  to  be  dug,  the 
opening  to  which  was  concealed  by  a  thick  bush.  There  he 
dwelt  in  prayer  and  holy  meditation.  The  enemy  came  many 
times  to  seek  for  him  in  order  to  put  him  to  death,  and  searched 
the  house  in  vain.  "  When  I  am  dead,"  said  he,  mournfully, 
"  bury  me  at  Aird's  Moss,  beside  Richard,  that  I  may  find 
rest  in  his  grave,  for  I  have  had  none  in  my  life.  However, 
wheresoever  you  bury  me,  I  shall  rise  again."  Soon  after,  he 
expired,  in  1686,  the  same  year  in  which  the  Popish  worship 
was  set  up  in  the  capital  by  order  of  the  king.  Peden,  who 
had  closed  his  own  pulpit  against  error,  was  not  fated  to  be- 
hold it  invading  the  ancient  palace  of  Scotland. 


VII. 


THE    REVOLUTION. 

GREAT  events  were  now  rapidly  hurrying  on,  and  liberty 
was  soon  to  be  restored  to  the  people  of  God.  The  perfidi- 
ous James  granted  a  general  toleration,  for  the  twofold  pur- 
pose of  favoring  the  Papists,  and  of  seeing  the  Protestant 
sects  devour  one  another,  as  he  hoped  they  would,  that  he 
might  afterwards  build  up  the  Church  of  Rome  upon  their 
ruins.  The  Presbyterian  ministers  took  advantage  of  this 
edict  to  gather  together  their  dispersed  congregations.  But 
another  cruel  blow  remained  to  be  struck. 

Some  of  the  ministers  had  refused  to  accept  the  royal  am- 
nesty. Among  these  were  James  Renwick,  who  was  appre- 
hended ut  Edinburgh  on  the  1st  of  February,  1688.  His 
youth  (he  was  only  twenty-six  years  of  age),  the  simplicity 
of  his  manners,  the  beauty  of  his  person,  and  the  candor  of 
his  answers,  excited  in  his  favor  the  compassion  and  respect 
even  of  his  judges  ;  he  was,  nevertheless,  condemned  to  death. 
When  asked  if  he  desired  any  delay,  he  answered,  "  It  is  all 


272  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

one  to  me ;  if  it  be  prolonged  it  is  welcome :  rny  Master's 
time  is  the  best."  On  the  17th  of  February  he  was  led  to 
the  scaffold.  He  was  forbidden  to  pray  or  to  address  the 
people ;  but  refusing  to  submit  to  this  order,  he  had  hardly 
opened  his  mouth  when  the  beating  of  drums  drowned  his 
voice.  His  friends  listening  attentively,  caught  a  few  words 
from  his  lips,  which  have  been  handed  down  to  us.  "  I  die," 
said  he,  "owning  the  Word  of  God  as  the  only  rule  of  faith. 
I  leave  my  testimony  against  Popery,  Prelacy,  and  Erastian- 
ism  ;  and  particularly  against  all  encroachments  upon  Christ's 
rights,  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,  who  alone  must 
bear  the  glory  of  ruling  His  own  kingdom."  The  martyr 
was  now  ordered  to  ascend  the  ladder :  he  did  so,  saying, 
Lord,  I  die  in  the  faith  that  thou  wilt  not  leave  Scotland,  but 
that  thou  wilt  make  the  blood  of  thy  witnesses  to  be  the 
seed  of  thy  church.  Lord,  come  quickly !" 

In  truth,  at  the  very  moment  that  Renwick  was  resigning 
his  soul  to  God  deliverance  was  nigh.  The  pistol  of  the 
dragoon  was  to  fall  from  his  cruel  hand,  the  cord  of  the  hang- 
man to  be  broken ;  the  waves  of  the  sea  were  no  longer  to 
serve  as  the  executioners  of  the  wrath  of  man,  and  the  moun- 
tains of  Scotland,  instead  of  echoing  to  cries  of  anguish, 
were  to  burst  forth  into  the  voice  of  singing.  The  Lord  was 
about  to  appear  and  bring  salvation. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  1688,  the  queen,  who  had  borne  no  chil- 
dren, gave  birth  to  a  prince,  an  event  which  filled  the  Papists 
with  joy,  and  the  Protestants  with  alarm.  The  crown,  which 
should  have  descended  to  Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  James, 
and  wife  of  the  Stadtholder,  William  Prince  of  Orange-Nas- 
sau, the  head  of  the  Protestant  cause  in  Europe,  was  there- 
fore to  devolve  upon  the  son  of  the  papistical  Stuart.  The 
child  was  baptized  with  great  pomp,  and  had  for  his  god- 
father— the  Pope  !  This  was  full  of  meaning.  The  Pope, 
in  the  opinion  of  James,  ought  to  be  the  godfather  of  all 
England. 

But  on  the  5th  of  November,  1688,  William  of  Orange, 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  273 

whom  the  people  had  invoked  as  their  liberator,  arrived  on 
the  coast  of  Devonshire,  the  English  colors  flying  from  his 
mast-head,  with  this  inscription  :  "  The  Protestant  Religion, 
and  Liberties  of  England ;"  and  beneath  it  the  motto  of  the 
Nassaus  :  "  Je  maintiendrai." 

Meanwhile  the  proclamations  of  the  English  leaders  de- 
manded the  maintenance  of  Protestantism  and  a  free  parlia- 
ment ;  calling  James  a  tyrant,  and,  as  such,  to  be  opposed 
with  all  lawful  resistance. 

On  the  evening  of  the  9th,  the  queen  fled  in  disguise  with 
the  young  prince,  his  nurse,  and  two  other  persons  ;  and 
crossed  the  Thames  in  an  open  boat,  exposed  to  cold,  wind, 
and  rain,  and  fearing  every  moment  to  be  discovered,  before 
she  could  reach  the  ship  which  was  to  convey  her  to  France. 

On  the  llth,  the  king  also  fled,  throwing  the  great  seal  of 
the  kingdom  into  the  river ;  and  the  Pope's  nuncio  also  es- 
caped, disguised  as  a  footman,  sitting  on  the  coach-box  of  a 
foreign  ambassador.  James,  unfortunately  arrested  by  some 
fishermen,  just  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  the  Eng- 
lish coast,  was  brought  back  to  London,  whence  he  was 
transferred  to  Rochester.  Finding  the  garden  door  which 
led  to  the  river  purposely  left  open,  he  again  fled  at  mid- 
night, on  the  23d  of  December.  He  landed,  after  a  stormy 
passage,  which  lasted  two  days,  at  Ambleteuse,  in  France, 
and  hastened  to  the  royal  castle  of  St.  Germains,  near  Paris, 
to  throw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the  persecutor  of  the 
French  Protestants.  This  was  the  end  of  the  power  which 
had  intended  to  re-establish  in  Great  Britain  the  odious  yoke 
of  the  Papacy. 

The  throne,  declared  vacant  by  the  parliament,  was  given 
to  William  and  Mary.  Scotland  assented  to  this  resolution, 
by  a  declaration  in  April,  1689,  which  at  the  same  time  abol- 
ished Prelacy  as  the  cause  of  the  grievances  of  the  country. 
On  the  25th  of  April,  1690,  the  Scottish  parliament,  after 
annulling  the  act  which  ascribed  supremacy  to  the  king  in 
ecclesiastical  matters,  restored  to  their  long  destitute  flocks 

12* 


274  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

those  Presbyterian  ministers  who  were  still  alive,  and  who 
had  been  driven  from  them  ever  since  the  1st  of  January, 
1661.  The  Westminster  Confession  was  ratified  soon  after- 
wards, and  the  Presbyterian  constitution  declared  to  be  the 
government  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Scotland,  as  being 
agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  most  conducive  to  the 
advancement  of  true  piety  and  godliness,  and  the  establishing 
of  peace." 

They  went  even  further  ;  and  this  act  is  particularly  wor- 
thy of  notice,  as  enabling  us  to  understand  the  history  of 
the  present.  On  the  19th  of  July,  1690,  the  parliament 
again  annulled  patronage,  which  had  already  been  abolished 
in.  1649,  as  illegal  and  contrary  to  the  Word  of  God  and  to 
the  liberties  of  the  church.  The  highest  authority  of  the  na- 
tion annihilated  that  privilege  which  had  always  been  odious 
to  the  Scottish  people, — the  privilege  of  the  landlords  to 
present  ministers  to  the  vacant  churches.  It  declared  the 
nomination  of  the  pastors  to  belong  to  the  elders  and  the 
Protestant  heritors  of  the  parish,  who  are  to  propose  the 
person  to  the  whole  congregation  ;  and  added  that  the  latter, 
in  case  of  refusal,  should  state  their  reasons  to  the  presby- 
tery. A  compensation  was  assigned  to  the  patrons.  At 
length,  on  the  16th  of  October,  1690,  after  an  illegal  inter- 
ruption of  nearly  forty  years,  the  General  Assembly  was  con- 
vened. 

The  Church  of  Scotland  was  now  once  more  in  possession 
of  all  those  liberties  for  which  she  had  so  long  groaned,  and 
a  period  of  peace  and  prosperity,  of  independence  and  life, 
was  opening  before  her.  "  The  Lord  shall  judge  among  the 
nations,  and  shall  rebuke  many  people :  and  they  shall  beat 
their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning 
hooks  :  nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither 
shall  they  learn  war  any  more.  0  house  of  Jacob,  come  ye, 
and  let  us  walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord."  (Isaiah,  ii.  4,  5.) 

In  looking  back  to  the  commencement  of  the  period  we 
have  now  surveyed,  no  one  can  have  failed  to  remark,  that 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  275 

certain  points  of  resemblance  are  to  be  found  between  the 
Scottish  struggles  \ve  have  just  recounted,  and  those  other 
struggles  which  have  taken  place,  and  which  are  still  in  prog- 
ress on  the  shores  of  our  fair  lake  of  Geneva.  I  will  not 
enlarge  upon  this  subject.  I  acknowledge  the  conflicts  of 
Scotland  to  have  been  more  sanguinary,  more  terrible,  and 
more  illustrious  through  the  faith  of  her  martyrs.  They 
took  place  in  the  seventeenth  century,  not  in  the  nineteenth. 

I  will  only  indicate  one  point  of  resemblance  between  the 
struggles  of  Scotland  and  those  of  Vaud.  In  both  we  do 
not  behold  individual  combats,  but  one  great  warfare  of  the 
persecuted  church  against  her  oppressors.  Both  churches 
look  up  to  the  King  of  all  his  people.  It  is  the  sovereignty 
of  Christ  which  both  have  set  up,  against  the  illegal  en- 
croachments of  the  civil  power.  At  the  feet  of  Jesus,  their 
King,  our  brethren  of  1662,  as  well  as  our  brethren  of  1845, 
laid  down  the  sacrifice  of  their  livings,  of  their  parishes,  and 
sometimes  even  of  the  whole  means  which  they  possessed  of 
feeding  their  little  ones. 

Thus,  then,  in  the  hour  of  suffering,  the  Church  feels  her 
unity,  and  worships  the  kingship  of  her  Head.  But  will  she 
feel  this  unity,  will  she  worship  this  kingship  only  in  dis- 
tress ?  Must  the  wicked  deprive  us  of  the  Word  of  God ; 
must  they  drive  the  ministers  from  their  pulpits,  and  shut 
the  church  doors  against  the  faithful,  to  enable  them  to  per- 
ceive that  they  are  one  body,  and  in  order  that  the  feeling  of 
brotherhood  which  unites  all  together,  and  joins  all  to  the 
Head,  should  be  living  and  present  in  every  heart  ? 

Although  the  rod  of  God  has  not  yet  dispersed  us,  let  us 
remember  that  the  Christian  church  is  truly  one  body  ;  that 
in  the  fellowship  of  the  saints  lay  the  prosperity  of  the 
Primitive  Church  ;  and  that  it  alone  can  cause  our  own  to 
flourish.  Let  us  be  members  organically  united  to  one  an- 
other under  the  same  head,  and  let  the  communion  we  cel- 
ebrate in  our  assemblies  be  no  hypocritical  ceremony.  Let 
the  church  be  not  a  mere  school  in  which  a  doctor  instructs ; 


276  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

but,  also,  a  true  society  of  disciples  :  and  let  the  new  mem- 
bers of  the  church  feel,  when  they  confess  their  faith,  that 
they  are  entering  a  living  and  eternal  community. 

Never,  perhaps,  has  the  doctrine  of  a  sole  and  living 
church,  the  doctrine  of  a  single  and  heavenly  head  to  which 
all  members  must  belong,  been  more  powerfully  realized 
than  in  Scotland  during  the  years  of  her  sad  tribulations. 
There  men  died  for  Jesus,  the  only  Head  and  King  of  the 
church,  as  in  other  times  and  in  other  countries  they  died 
for  Jesus,  the  only  God,  the  only  Sacrifice,  and  the  only 
Intercessor. 

Doubtless,  we  do  not  mean  to  justify  all  that  the  Scottish 
Presbyterians  did  to  maintain  or  to  regain  religious  freedom. 
We  must  remember  what  was  said  at  Geneva,  by  one  of  our 
doctors,  in  a  thesis  maintained  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  a  Roman  Catholic  brought  forward  the  accusation  of 
the  death  of  Servetus.  "  That,"  he  replied,  "  was  one  of 
the  remnants  of  Popery."  Though,  as  to  the  doctrine,  the 
Reformation,  at  its  first  step,  rejected  the  whole  of  Popery  ; 
it  might,  nevertheless,  with  regard  to  certain  points  of  ec- 
clesiastical policy,  not  have  so  clear  and  so  quick  an  eye. 
These  are  matters  on  which  we  become  enlightened  by  de- 
grees. 

But  we  have  now  entered  on  a  new  period,  in  which  I 
firmly  believe  that  Evangelical  Christianity  is  to  be  prop- 
agated, and  even  defended,  by  spiritual  weapons  alone. 
Scotland  in  1833  and  1843  did  not  combat  like  the  Scotland 
of  1660  and  1688.  She  deprecated  every  idea  of  resistance 
and  revolution.  No  more  scaffolds,  no  more  battles !  We 
shall  have  no  more  really  religious  wars ;  and  should  there 
yet  be  struggles  called  by  that  name,  religion  will  only  be 
the  pretext,  while  state-policy  will  be  the  real  motive.  This 
is  the  case  in  Switzerland. 

In  this  new  period  the  weapons  of  Evangelical  Christians 
must  be  purely  spiritual,  and  thus  "  mighty  through  God." 
"  Old  things  are  passed  away ;  behold,  all  things  are  become 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  277 

new."  It  is  not  only  men  and  warriors  who  are  to  wrestle 
in  this  new  conflict ;  it  is  the  women,  the  children,  the  aged. 
To  all,  whosoever  you  may  be,  Scotland  has  set  an  example. 

In  the  Christian  warfare  the  weakest  may  take  part,  for  it 
is  not  with  men  alone  that  the  believer  6ghts,  even  when  it 
is  with  men  that  he  has  to  deal.  "  We  wrestle  not  against 
flesh  and  blood,"  says  St.  Paul ;  "  but  against  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this 
world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places."  Now, 
it  is  not  by  the  sword,  or  by  the  scaffold,  that  such  enemies 
are  to  be  overcome.  "This  is  the  victory  that bvercometh 
the  world,  even  our  faith."  When  faith,  truth,  and  charity, 
do  not  combat,  the  conflict  is  but  a  human  uproar  :  the  field 
of  battle  is  the  kingdom  of  darkness.  When  the  Christian 
wrestles,  it  is  of  little  consequence  whether  he  obtain  the 
victory  over  men ;  there  is  no  real  victory  unless  he  triumph 
over  the  powers  of  hell.  The  true  battles  of  Scotland  were 
not  those  in  which  standards,  muskets,  and  swords  were  to 
be  seen  ;  they  were  those  faithful  confesssions,  those  cour- 
ageous and  Christian  deaths  of  which  we  have  quoted  a  few 
examples.  By  these  were  the  oppressors  brought  down. 

My  brethren,  be  ye  also  ready.  Think  not  that  because 
we  live  in  other  times,  because  we  possess  religious  liberty, 
we  are  not  called  upon  to  combat  like  the  generous  witnesses 
of  whom  we  have  spoken.  May  this  cloud  of  witnesses  which 
we  have  caused  to  pass  before  your  view,  not  leave  you  idle 
and  fruitless  !  We  summon  you  boldly  to  a  battle,  and  this 
battle  is  an  every- day  conflict,  although  there  are  some  pe- 
riods in  which  it  becomes  more  fearful.  May  the  weapons 
of  the  Christian  be  always  at  hand  ;  always  at  your  side ; 
nay,  always  within  your  hearts  !  You  know  Saint  Paul's 
arsenal  (Eph.  vi.)  ;  fly  to  that  store-house,  and  provide  your- 
selves with  arms. 

May  "  your  loins  be  girt  about  with  truth" — that  moral 
truth,  that  sincerity,  that  simplicity  of  intention  which  faith 
in  Christ  creates  in  the  heart,  and  which  is  the  true  adorn- 


278  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ment  of  the  believer !  May  you  "  have  on  the  breastplate 
of  righteousness" — that  righteousness  which  proceeds  from 
faith,  and  in  which  the  Christian  is  invulnerable  ;  for  it  is  a 
righteousness  proceeding,  not  from  the  sentiments  of  his 
own  heart,  but  from  the  grace  of  God,  who  is  greater  than 
our  hearts.  Have  "  your  feet  shod  with  the  preparation  of 
the  Gospel  of  peace;"  for  to  wrestle  against  darkness  we 
must  possess  the  courage  which  comes  from  the  good  tid- 
ings of  our  own  peace  with  God.  He  who  is  still  under  con- 
demnation, who  is  still  lying  in  darkness,  cannot  wrestle 
with  the  powers  of  darkness,  for  he  is  their  bondman.  But 
whosoever  is  carried  into  the  kingdom  of  the  Son,  finds,  in 
peace  with  God,  all  the  strength  which  he  needs  to  prevail 
against  hell ;  of  this  we  have  just  seen  many  examples.  Let 
us  add  to  all  these  weapons,  the  "  shield  of  faith"  in  the 
promises  of  God,  so  fit  to  cover  us;  "the  helmet  of  the  as- 
surance of  salvation  ;"  "  the  Word,"  which  is  more  pow- 
erful than  a  two-edged  sword  ;  and,  above  all  things, 
"  prayer." 

Such  is  the  armor  of  the  Christian,  according  to  St.  Paul, 
and  I  lay  it  before  you.  These  arms  are  better  than  those 
Cameron  held  in  his  hand  when  he  died.  Honor  be  to 
those  men  of  old  time !  but  let  us  discern  our  new  times, 
and  the  call  of  God  to  the  present  generation.  Alas !  it  is 
not  conflicts,  not  wrestlings  that  are  now  wanting.  There 
are  such  in  the  nineteeenth  century,  as  in  the  seventeenth, 
and  as  in  the  first.  What  is  wanting  is  fidelity — is  victory. 
May  faith,  may  triumph  never  fail  us  more  !  I  speak  of  the 
triumph  of  faith  ;  of  that  triumph  which  is  obtained  even 
when  all  human  hopes  are  disappointed. 

But  does  not  the  result  which  God  bestowed  upon  the 
struggles  of  Scotland,  remind  us  that  He  is  sometimes 
pleased  to  bestow  other  results  and  other  deliverances  ? 
What  a  manifestation  of  God's  power,  was  that  rapid  fall  of 
James  II.,  and  that  arrival  of  William  on  the  shores  of  Brit- 
ain, with  these  words  upon  his  banner, — "  The  Protestant 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  279 

religion  and  liberties  of  England !"  Let  us  with  united 
hearts  boldly  resist  the  present  efforts  of  Popery  and  infidel- 
ity, and  the  tyranny  of  powerful  men.  Let  us  not  be  afraid 
because  we  are  weak.  Most  wonderful  is  the  power  of  little 
things  in  the  kingdom  of  nature  and  in  the  kingdom  of 
grace.  An  insect  almost  too  minute  for  observation  con- 
structs those  coral  reefs  of  the  Southern  Ocean,  against 
which  the  heedless  vessel  strikes  and  is  lost,  and  those 
islands  where  the  wearied  mariner  seeks  a  refuge  from  the 
storm.  A  Christian  gentleman  of  France*  has  recently 
called  to  recollection  an  ancient  Swiss  coin,  representing  a 
man  leaning  on  a  long  two-handed  sword,  with  the  device — 
DEUS  PROVIDEBIT.  "  Admirable  emblem  !"  adds  this  pious 
nobleman  ;  "  man  is  armed  for  the  combat,  and  God  will 
provide  !"  To  throw  away  the  sword,  and  wait  for  God 
alone,  is  to  neglect  one  of  the  conditions  of  victory.  To  for- 
get God,  and  reckon  upon  one's  own  sword  alone,  is  to 
neglect  the  other  condition  of  success.  Let  us  obliterate 
neither  the  armed  man  nor  the  device.  Let  us  grasp  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  fight  our  best ;  and  let  us  implore 
that  blessing  without  which  all  human  efforts  are  vain.  God 
will  provide.  "  Say  among  the  nations,  the  Lord  reigneth  : 
the  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  people  tremble ;  the  Lord  reign- 
eth, let  the  earth  rejoice." 

*  Count  Agenor  de  Gasparin. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES. 
EIGHTEENTH    AND   NINETEENTH    CENTURIES. 

Patronage.     1700  to  1843. 

I.  Awakening  and  Sleep.  Union  of  England  and  Scotland.  Funda- 
mental Condition.  The  Jacobites  and  the  Pretender.  The  Jacobites 
restore  Patronage.  Alarm  of  Scotland.  An  old  Iniquity. — 2.  World- 
liness  and  Arminianism  in  the  Church.  Protesting  for  Seventy-two 
Years.  Moderatism.  Ebenezer  Erskine.  Robertson  and  his  Times. 
Thomas  Gillespie.  Military  Intrusions.  Nigg.  A  solemn  Appeal. 
Unitarianism  enters  the  Church. — 3.  Transition.  French  Revolu- 
tion. Missions.  The  Chalmers'  Period  begins.  His  First  Motion 
in  1833.  Increase  of  Evangelical  Ministers.  The  Veto  in  1834. 
Two  Solutions.  A  Falsehood  in  the  Church.  Another  Way.  Suf- 
ferings of  the  Church.  Pastoral  Relationship.  Argument  of  Chal- 
mers. An  Ignorant  Christian.  Politicians  at  first  favor  the  Veto. 
Its  Effects. — 4.  A  strong  Opposition  formed.  Auchterarder  and  Mr. 
Young.  An  Enormity.  Marnoch  and  Mr.  Edwards.  Dr.  Cand- 
lish's  Motion.  The  Sword  drawn.  Revivals.  Edwards  settled  at 
Marnoch.  The  Congregation  withdraws.  Feelings  of  Scotland. — 
5.  Dr.  Buchanan's  Motion.  Petitions.  Decision  of  the  Moderate 
Party.  iJ5th  August.  Diplomatic  Negotiations.  Chalmers  against 
the  Encroachments  of  the  Civil  Courts.  Claim  of  Rights.  A  Church 
in  one  Day. — 6.  Decision  of  the  House  of  Lords.  Scotland  prepares. 
Convocation  of  the  17th  November.  Address  to  the  People  of  Scot- 
land. Answer  of  the  Government  Its  Mistake.  Appeal  of  Chal- 
mers. Reply  of  the  People.  Decision  of  the  Commons. — 7.  Dilemma. 
18th  May  1843.  Concourse  of  People.  St.  Andrews.  The  Protest. 
The  Exodus.  Deputations. — 8.  The  Procession.  Cannon  Mills. 
Chalmers,  first  Moderator  of  the  Free  Church.  Deed  of  Demission. 
Ministers  leave  their  Manses  and  Churches.  Vital  Preaching.  Sites, 
or  the  Wilderness.  Efforts  of  the  Christian  People.  Six  Hundred 
Churches.  Benmore  and  the  Free  Church.  No  Recoil. 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  281 

I. 

UNION    AND    PATRONAGE. 

IT  is  after  the  most  painful  fatigues,  and  the  most  strenu- 
ous exertion,  that  sleep  generally  overcomes  a  man ;  and 
even  so,  after  the  most  laborious  struggles,  does  the  church 
lie  most  exposed  to  the  danger  of  slumber.  A  revival  is 
generally  followed  by  a  lethargy,  and  a  great  elevation  by  a 
great  fall. 

After  the  first  three  centuries,  scarcely  were  the  flames 
of  persecution  extinguished,  and  the  children  of  God  no 
longer  exposed  to  confess  their  faith  by  the  sacrifice  of  their 
blood,  when  the  church,  exchanging  the  swords  and  scaffolds 
of  Trajan  and  Aurelius  for  the  soft  seats  and  sumptuous 
couches  of  Constantine  and  his  successors,  fell  into  a  deep 
slumber. 

The  mighty  revival  of  the  Reformation  was  likewise  fol- 
lowed by  the  torpor  of  a  scholastic  and  deadening  theology. 
The  awakening  of  Pietism  and  Spener  in  Germany,  at  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  gave  place  to  a  rationalism 
which  threatened  to  be  for  the  church  the  sleep  of  the  tomb. 
Will  it  not  be  the  same  with  the  deliverance  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  granted  by  God  to  Scotland  ?  Will  it  not 
become  a  stone  of  offence  in  her  way,  against  which  she  will 
stumble  and  fall  ? 

On  the  8th  of  March,  1702,  on  the  death  of  King  William, 
Queen  Anne,  the  second  daughter  of  James  II.,  succeeded. 
The  victories  of  Marlborough  have  shed  glory  on  her  reign, 
and  she  was,  at  Utrecht,  the  arbitress  of  Europe.  But  her 
most  memorable  act  was  the  Union  of  England  and  Scot- 
land, thus  forming  one  parliament.  To  the  preparation  of 
this  Union,  the  government,  soon  after  her  accession,  be- 
stowed their  utmost  attention.  Under  some  real  advan- 
tages, great  dangers  lay  concealed.  Scotland  was  Presby- 


282  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

terian,  England  Episcopal ;  the  weaker  of  the  two  kingdoms 
might  be  apprehensive  of  seeing  her  ecclesiastical  principles 
misunderstood  by  the  stronger.  An  act  therefore  passed,  as 
the  basis  of  the  Treaty  of  Union,  by  virtue  of  which  (these 
are  the  very  words) — "  The  true  Protestant  religion,  as 
presently  professed  within  this  kingdom,  with  the  worship, 
discipline,  and  government  of  this  church,  should  be  effec- 
tually and  unalterably  secured.  Her  Majesty  expressly  pro- 
vides and  declares,  that  they  shall  remain  and  continue  un- 
alterable, and  that  the  said  Presbyterian  government  shall 
be  the  only  government  of  the  church  within  the  kingdom 
of  Scotland  ;  and  it  is  hereby  statuted  and  ordained,  that 
this  Act  of  Parliament,  with  the  establishment  therein  con- 
tained, shall  be  held  in  all  time  coming  as  a  fundamental 
and  essential  condition  of  any  treaty  or  union  to  be  con- 
cluded betwixt  the  two  kingdoms  WITHOUT  ANY  ALTERATION 

THEREOF,  OR  DEROGATION  THERETO,  IN  ANY  SORT  FOR  EVER." 

This  was  the  tenor  of  the  Act  of  Union  of  the  16th  Jan- 
uary, 1707.  It  is  worthy  of  our  attention,  that  we  may 
rightly  understand  the  present  times.  It  was  most  clearly 
and  categorically  settled,  that  the  united  parliament  of  Eng- 
land and  Scotland  should  make  no  change  whatever  in  the 
constitution  of  the  Scottish  Church  ;  so  that  any  infringe- 
ment of  the  fundamental  act  of  the  Union  of  the  two  king- 
doms might  be  regarded  as  virtually  implying  the  dissolution 
of  this  great  national  treaty.  The  Union  was  completed 
upon  this  clearly  defined  basis,  and,  thenceforw-ard,  one  and 
the  same  parliament  represented  the  two  nations.  Thus  it 
seemed  to  have  put  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  immutable 
and  irrevocable  possession  of  her  liberties.  But  what  are 
all  human  guarantees  ?  Scarcely  had  five  years  passed 
away,  when  the  ecclesiastical  government  of  Scotland  un- 
derwent an  important  change,  and  the  treaty  of  Union  was 
seriously  infringed.  At  this  very  time,  at  the  distance  of 
more  than  a  century,  Scotland  is  still  troubled  and  agitated 
by  this  violation  of  her  treaty  with  England.  We  proceed 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  283 

to  describe  the  way  in  which  the  lamentable  event  was 
brought  about. 

There  existed  in  Scotland  a  powerful  Jacobite  party,  all 
the  members  of  which  were  attached  to  the  Stuarts;  but 
some  of  them  were  also  attached  to  Episcopacy,  and  others 
to  Popery.  All  were  full  of  hatred  to  the  Evangelical  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  desired  its  overthrow,  regarding  it  as 
the  bulwark  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  This  party,  which 
also  existed  in  England,  came  into  power  during  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne,  and  formed  a  ministry  which  included  Sir 
Simon  Harcourt,  the  famous  infidel  Bolingbroke,  and  the 
Duke  of  Hamilton,  the  chief  of  the  Scottish  Jacobites.  The 
object  of  this  ministry  was  to  procure  that  the  Pretender, -the 
Chevalier  St.  George,  godson  of  the  Pope,  and  brother  to  the 
queen,  who,  ever  since  1701,  had  been  recognized  by  Louis 
XIV.  of  France  as  King  of  England,  by  the  title  of  James 
III.,  should  be  acknowledged  as  the  successor  of  Anne,  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  Protestant  branch  of  the  family,  the  head 
of  which  was  now  the  Princess  Sophia,  Duchess  of  Hanover. 
This  Papist  party  was  powerfully  supported  from  abroad. 
The  Pretender,  closely  allied  to  the  Pope,  received  from  him 
subsidies,  prayers,  and  indulgences  in  favor  of  those  who 
would  either  pray  or  act  £pr  the  success  of  his  cause.  Queen 
Anne  herself  was  desirous  that  her  brother,  the  Popish  Pre- 
tender, should  be  her  successor,  rather  than  the  Protestant 
Princess  of  Hanover,  and  did  all  in  her  power  to  that  effect. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scot- 
land saw  the  state  of  affairs  in  its  true  light,  and  perceiving 
the  dangers  that  now  threatened  the  faith,  ordered,  that  in 
the  public  prayers  the  name  of  the  Princess  Sophia  should 
be  placed  immediately  after  the  queen's,  as  her  rightful  suc- 
cessor. 

The  Jacobite  or  Popish  party,  desirous  of  clearing  their 
way,  now  attempted  to  weaken  the  Church  of  Scotland.  By 
thus  degrading  that  illustrious  bulwark  of  truth  and  freedom, 
the  Papists  or  Jacobites  hoped,  besides  the  immediate  ad- 


284  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

vantages  that  they  would  derivre,  to  create  in  Scotland  a 
spirit  of  discontent  against  England,  which  would  render  it 
more  easy  for  the  Pretender  to  win  the  Scottish  throne,  and 
make  it  a  stepping-stone  to  that  of  England.  In  fact,  it  has 
always  been  through  Scotland  that  the  different  Pretenders, 
Charles  II.,  the  Chevalier  St.  George,  and  the  Duke  of 
Albany,  have  endeavored  to  repossess  themselves  of  Great 
Britain.  The  Jacobite  party  saw  no  better  way  of  accom- 
plishing this  than  to  restore  Patronage,  which  had  been 
solemnly  abolished  by  the  Revolution  of  1688.  The  restora- 
tion of  Patronage  was,  therefore,  a  work  of  Papistical  ten- 
dency, conceived  and  executed  by  the  friends  of  the  Pre- 
tender. These  are  the  expressions  of  a  distinguished  member 
of  the  Jacobite  party  in  England,  (formerly  a  bishop.)  in  a 
letter  addressed  by  him  to  another  Episcopalian  in  Scotland, 
and  which,  at  the  time  of  the  disruption  in  1843,  was  laid 
before  the  House  of  Commons.  After  showing  that  the  aim 
of  the  party  should  be  the  re-establishment  of  Prelacy,  and 
adding  that  the  Act  of  Union  renders  this  object  difficult  to 
attain,  the  author  proceeds :  "  The  matter  must  first  be 
sounded  at  a  distance ;  and  a  just  computation  of  our  strength, 
and  some  previous  settlement  made,  such  as  restoring  of 
patronage,  and  the  granting  of  indulgences,  with  liberty  to 
possess  churches  and  benefices ;  and  this  will  undoubtedly 
make  way  for  an  entire  re-establishment  of  the  ancient  apos- 
tolic order  of  bishops ;  for  our  queen,  having  right,  as  patron, 
to  a  great  many  churches,  she  will  still  prefer  those  of  our 
persuasion  to  others,  and  the  rest  of  laical  patrons,  partly 
through  interest,  and  to  please  her  Majesty,  will  follow  her 
example." 

This  calculation  could  not  fail  of  being  realized.  In  fact, 
according  to  a  late  enumeration,  out  of  972  parishes,  the 
crown  has  the  patronage  of  302,  the  privy  council  60,  and 
different  landholders  587.  There  remained  only  24  for  dif- 
ferent colleges  or  heads  of  families,  more  or  less  unbiassed  by 
aristocratical  or  episcopal  influence. 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  285 

The  Jacobite  party  immediately  set  to  work.  As  the  Act 
of  Union  stipulated  that  the  Church  of  Scotland  should  retain 
all  her  institutions,  after  the  purely  Scottish  parliament  had 
been  dissolved,  and  an  Anglo-Scottish  parliament  had  suc- 
ceeded it  in  London  ;  it  was  a  necessary  consequence  that 
the  united  parliament  had  no  power,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
change  one  iota  in  the  constitution  of  the  Scottish  Church  ; 
and  that  if  such  a  change  had  been  proposed,  it  would  have 
been  requisite  again  to  convene  the  Scottish  parliament  at 
Edinburgh,  which  body  alone  had  the  right  of  deciding  in 
concert  with  the  General  Assembly.  Yet  the  contrary 
course  was  adopted. 

The  son  of  one  of  the  former  patrons  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  (Mr.  Murray,  son  of  Lord  Stormont,)  proposed  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  on  the  13th  of  March,  1712,  the 
restoration  of  church  patronage  in  Scotland,  and  on  the  7th 
of  April  the  bill  passed. 

All  Scotland  was  in  consternation,  and  the  most  animated 
speeches  were  delivered  north  of  the  Tweed.  Every  one, 
even  those  who  were  unmoved  by  the  political  and  ecclesias- 
tical prepossessions  of  the  times,  regarded  patronage  with 
suspicion.  Most  of  the  patrons  at  the  present  day  belong  to 
the  Episcopal  Church,  as  many  of  them  belonged  to  it  at  that 
period.  Now  to  cause  the  ministers  of  one  church  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  men  belonging  to  another,  is  certainly  one  of  the 
greatest  ecclesiastical  absurdities  that  can  be  imagined.  For 
the  sake  of  consistency,  they  should  have  settled  that,  in  Eng- 
land, for  instance,  the  bishops  of  the  Anglican  Church  should 
be  appointed  by  the  Pope.  Besides  this,  the  Scotch  could 
never  forget  that  it  was  by  shedding  the  blood  of  their  gen- 
erous martyrs  that  the  attempt  had  been  made  to  set  up  the 
church  of  Archbishop  Laud  in  the  midst  of  them,  to  the 
members  of  which  they  were  now  to  consign  the  nomination 
of  their  pastors.  "  Patronage,"  said  most  of  them,  "  is  noth- 
ing but  a  tool  of  the  government  to  bring  this  nation  to 
Popery." 


286  HISTORICAL   RECOLLECTIONS. 

Scotland,  in  alarm,  hastily  sent  to  London  three  deputies 
— Carstares,  Blackwell,  and  Baillie — to  oppose  in  the  House 
of  Lords  that  fatal  measure,  which  had  been  already  agreed 
upon  in  the  Commons.  But  notwithstanding  their  protesta- 
tions, the  bill  passed  the  Upper  House  on  the  12th  of  April, 
and  on  the  22d  was  presented  for  the  royal  assent.  What 
would  Queen  Anne  do  ? 

It  was  an  immoral  act  which  the  queen  of  England  was 
then  required  to  perform.  The  two  nations  had  just  been 
united  by  a  solemn  treaty,  and  before  the  ink  had  time  to 
dry,  the  ministers  destroyed  the  parchment  in  their  sove- 
reign's presence.  What  did  they  propose  but  the  repeal  of 
the  Treaty  of  Union,  the  annihilation  of  the  Revolution  Settle- 
ment, the  abolition  of  her  own  right  to  the  empire  ? 

All  these  considerations  were  of  no  avail.  "  It  only  con- 
cerns a  few  Puritans,"  they  told  the  queen.  Besides  this, 
other  important  objects  were  to  be  attained.  The  queen 
gave  her  assent. 

But  this  act,  in  reality  a  most  revolutionary  one,  was  merely 
a  beginning.  The  Jacobite  and  Popish  party  were  preparing 
other  bills,  one  of  which  was  to  abolish  the  General  Assem- 
blies of  the  church  ;  another  to  force  the  presentee  on  the 
flocks  without  leaving  the  latter  even  the  form  or  appear- 
ance of  a  call ;  and  a  third  to  restore  their  revenues  to  the 
bishops. 

The  death  of  Queen  Anne,  and  the  accession  of  the  House 
of  Hanover,  delivered  the  church,  with  the  help  of  God,  from 
these  fresh  attacks.  Bolingbroke  saved  himself  by  flight, 
and  went  to  hide  his  infidelity  and  his  fatal  designs  in  France. 
Yet  the  introduction  of  patronage  was  sufficient.  It  was  an 
infraction  not  only  of  the  Presbyterian  system,  but  of  public 
faith.  England,  at  this  very  hour,  is  moved  at  the  violation 
of  another  treaty  committed  on  the  banks  of  the  Vistula,  near 
Poland  and  Gallicia.  But  she  would  do  well  to  be  moved 
at  this  annihilation  of  the  most  solemn  statutes  which  has 
been  committed,  not  by  others,  but  by  herself, — not  fifteen 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  287 

hundred  miles  from  London,  but  in  that  very  metropolis.  It 
is  true  that  more  than  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the  deed 
was  done  ;  but  an  old  iniquity  is  still  more  flagrant  than  a  new- 
one  ;  it  is  increased  every  year  by  the  injustice  which  refuses 
to  redress  it.  Such  injustice  is  a  crevice  in  the  armor  of  a 
people  ;  in  spite  of  all  they  do,  this  defect  becomes  more  and 
more  apparent,  neutralizing  every  movement.  Sooner  or 
later  the  consequences  will  be  seen.  "  They  have  sown  the 
wind,  and  they  shall  reap  the  whirlwind,"  says  Hosea,  (viii. 


II. 


ROBERTSON  S    PERIOD    AND    MODERATISM. 

AFTER  such  a  violation  of  the  treaty,  we  might  have  ex- 
pected from  Scotland  a  legal,  Christian,  and  energetic  resist- 
ance. But  the  former  days  were  passed  away.  At  the  pe- 
riod of  the  Revolution  of  1688,  the  Presbyterian  Church  had 
received  within  her  three  hundred  of  the  prelatic,  worldly, 
and  persecuting  curates  of  Charles  and  James  II.,  who  had 
thus  formed  a  party  averse  to  evangelical  piety,  sound  doc- 
trine, and  ecclesiastical  liberty,  and  always  ready  to  concur 
in  political  intrigues.  There  were,  besides,  other  causes. 
After  the  struggles  that  Scotland  had  undergone  from  1660 
to  1688,  the  whole  country  experienced  a  reaction  similar  to 
that  which  takes  place  in  the  human  frame  after  violent  ex- 
ertion. The  Arian  and  Arminian  doctrines,  elaborated  in 
Holland  and  England,  found  among  this  people  a  well-pre- 
pared soil.  In  the  opinion  of  many,  the  Gospel  was  no 
longer  a  work  of  expiation  and  of  regeneration  accomplished 
by  Jesus  Christ ;  it  was  transformed  into  "  a  milder  dispen- 
sation," a  Neonomianism,  without  either  grandeur  or  strength. 
The  patrons  naturally  preferred  these  Arminian  clergymen 
to  the  evangelical  ministers,  finding,  among  the  former,  men 
more  compliant,  more  indifferent,  and  more  accommodating 


283  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

as  to  the  moral  law.  Thus  laxity  in  the  essential  doctrines 
of  Christianity  went  along  with  laxity  as  to  the  liberties  of 
the  church,  and  the  two  qualifications  united,  thenceforward 
formed  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  what  afterwards  re- 
ceived the  name  of  Moderatism.  Every  period  has  its  pe- 
culiar danger.  After  having  had  to  sustain  in  the  sixteenth 
century  the  hateful  and  perfidious  struggle  against  Popery, 
and  in  the  seventeenth  the  violent  and  cruel  one  against  Pre- 
lacy, the  Church  of  Scotland  was  now  to  be  enfeebled  in  the 
eighteenth  by  the  enervating  and  lethargic  vapors  of  Patron- 
age and  Moderatism. 

Yet  the  truly  evangelical  did  not  yield  ;  and  when  they  be- 
held Patronage  introduced  by  the  illegal  act  of  Queen  Anne, 
they  rose  against  this  restoration  of  a  system  odious  to  the 
whole  people  of  Scotland.  The  General  Assembly  itself 
protested.  Queen  Anne  being  dead,  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land renewed  her  protest  in  1715,  before  George  I.,  and  in 
1717  sent  a  deputation- to  London  to  obtain  the  repeal  of 
that  act.  The  petition  was  read,  but  Parliament  dissolved 
without  paying  attention  to  it.  Similar  protests  were  re- 
peated year  after  year  by  the  General  Assembly,  till  1784, 
a  period  which  was  that  of  youth  with  some  of  ourselves. 
The  revocation  of  the  act  of  Queen  Anne  was  the  Delenda 
Carthago  of  Scotland.  "What!"  said  they,  "would  you 
deprive  Christians,  a  free  people,  of  all  interest  in  the  choice 
of  those  to  whom  they  intrust  the  care  of  their  souls  ?  Would 
you  give  up  this  right  to  unconcerned  patrons,  who  often  do 
not  even  reside  in  the  parish,  and  would  themselves  devolve 
it  upon  others  ?"  But  what  did  that  signify  to  men  who 
were  strangers  to  the  Gospel  ?  They  took  great  care,  indeed, 
of  the  prosperity  of  the  church !  At  last  the  church  felt 
little  concern  in  it  herself.  In  1784,  moderate  opinions 
were  decidedly  prevalent  on  this  subject,  and  the  protest  was 
laid  aside. 

Scotland  submitted  to  this  unlawful  act.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eighteenth  century  her  fatal  slumber  had  com- 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  289 

menced.  The  church  had  been  losing  her  senses  by  degrees, 
and  the  mephitic  vapors  of  Moderatism,  ascending  to  her 
head,  had  deprived  her  of  the  consciousness  of  her  own  ex- 
istence. This  lethargic  influonce  had  increased  from  year  to 
year,  and  she  fell  into  a  long  and  deep  sleep. 

During  the  first  ten  years  of  the  union  of  the  two  king, 
doms,  the  feelings  of  grievance  which  this  violation  of  na- 
tional compacts  had  excited,  were  so  strong,  that  no  patron 
dared  avail  himself  of  the  right  of  presentation  which  the 
Act  of  Queen  Anne  had  bestowed  on  him.  But  by  degrees, 
especially  after  17.35,  the  time  when  the  Moderates  obtained 
a  decisive  influence  in  the  direction  of  the  church,  the  call 
of  ministers  by  the  congregation  became  nothing  more  than 
a  form — a  mere  compliment  paid  to  the  pastor  by  his  flock ; 
and  the  liberties  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  which  had  cost 
so  much  precious  blood,  were  about  to  be  overwhelmed  by 
the  stagnant  waters  of  Moderatism. 

Yet  a  few  generous  voices  still  made  themselves  heard. 
The  spirit  of  early  times — the  spirit  of  Knox,  of  Melvill,  of 
Welsh — was  not  yet  extinct.  Thus,  when  a  dead  calm  falls 
upon  the  sea,  destroying  all  life  and  motion,  light  airs  from 
time  to  time  gently  swell  the  sails  of  the  ship,  until  at  last 
every  movement  of  the  air  ceases,  and  the  disheartened  sail- 
ors can  no  longer  work  the  vessel.  In  like  manner,  a  few 
vivifying  breezes  still  came,  from  time  to  time,  to  reanimate 
Scotland,  lying  still  and  motionless  in  the  dead  calm  of  the 
Moderate  party. 

Ebenezer  Erskine,  minister  of  Stirling,  was  one  of  the  first 
witnesses  for  God  who  preached  against  the  growing  corrup- 
tions of  the  church.  This  took  place  in  1732.  He  was  sum- 
moned to  the  bar  of  the  Assembly,  to  be  rebuked  by  the 
Moderator ;  but,  feeling  convinced  that  he  had  acted  con- 
formably to  the  laws  of  the  church,  he  protested  against  the 
citation,  and  three  of  his  colleagues  joined  him  in  so  doing. 
All  four,  after  being  deprived,  formed  themselves  into  a  dis- 
tinct presbytery.  This  was  the  first  secession,  which  now 
13 


290  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

numbers  400  congregations.  "  The  seed  fallen  into  good 
ground  brings  forth  fruit,  some  a  hundred,  some  sixty,  some 
thirty  fold,"  saith  the  Lord.  Here  each  grain  has  brought 
forth  a  hundred. 

Ten  years  afterwards  a  great  religious  revival  manifested 
itself  in  different  parts  of  Scotland.  There  were  almost 
every  day  numerous  assemblies  at  Cambuslang,  Kilsyth,  and 
elsewhere.  A  vast  number  of  souls  were  converted.  But 
this  passing  gleam  of  heavenly  sunshine  soon  vanished,  and 
the  sky  was  again  covered  with  thick  clouds. 

God  usually  decrees  that  when  great  things  are  to  be  ac- 
complished, either  for  good  or  evil,  some  man  should  appear, 
who  influences  and  rules  the  whole  period.  This  now  hap- 
pened. An  illustrious  writer,  William  Robertson,  the  histo- 
rian of  Charles  V.,  now  took  his  place  at  the  head  of  Scot- 
tish Moderatism.  Of  irreproachable  moral  conduct,  and 
commanding  genius,  he  undertook  to  oblige  the  flocks  every- 
where to  receive  the  presentee  of  the  patron.  During  his 
reign  (this  is  not  too  strong  a  word),  which  lasted  nearly 
thirty  years,  Robertson  showed  himself  in  the  government 
of  the  church,  as  he  did  also  in  his  remarkable  writings,  to 
be  a  stranger  to  the  internal  wants  of  the  people  of  God, 
and  to  the  life  of  faith. 

He  attached  himself  to  the  political,  social,  and  psycholog- 
ical points  of  view,  and  was,  in  these  respects,  an  incom- 
parable historian  ;  but  far  from  exhibiting  to  his  readers,  even 
in  the  history  of  the  Reformation,  the  power  of  the  Divine 
Word,  and  the  might  of  evangelical  faith — far  from  setting 
in  its  true  light  the  necessity  of  faithful  churches  developing 
themselves  conformably  to  the  doctrines  and  the  life  of  grace  ; 
he  does  not  even  appear  aware  of  the  existence  of  such  things, 
and  they  remain  to  him  a  terra  incognita.  There  was  unity 
in  Robertson :  the  writer  and  the  Moderator  were  one  and 
the  same  individual ;  and  it  might  be  said  of  him  in  both 
characters,  as  Luther  said  of  Erasmus,  "  In  him  the  human 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  291 

predominates  over  the  divine."*  Caring  little  for  conscience 
or  for  individual  convictions,  and  holding  with  a  firm  grasp 
the  yoke  of  patronage,  under  which  he  would  cause  all  Scot- 
land to  pass,  he  said  to  every  one :  "  Bow  the  head  or  go 
out !" 

The  first  instance  of  this  tyranny  occurred  in  1752.  One 
Richardson,  presented  by  the  patron  of  Inverkeithing,  was 
rejected  by  the  parishioners.  The  General  Assembly  or- 
dered him  to  be  settled  in  spite  of  their  objections ;  but  Mr. 
Thomas  Gillespie,  one  of  the  ministers  appointed  to  proceed 
to  his  settlement,  refused  to  do  so.  In  consequence  of  this 
Mr.  Gillespie  was  deprived.  "  I  rejoice,"  said  the  venerable 
man,  meekly,  on  hearing  his  sentence, — "  I  rejoice  that  to 
me  it  is  given,  in  behalf  of  Christ,  not  only  to  believe  in 
Him,  but  also  to  suffer  for  His  sake."  This  act  brought 
about  the  second  secession,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Relief, 
which  now  numbers  114  churches.  The  two  secessions  this 
year  (1847)  united  themselves  into  one  Scottish  Presbyterian 
Chureh. 

Thenceforward,  intrusions  become  more  and  more  frequent, 
and  often  the  clergymen  appointed  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly to  ordain  a  pastor  were  seen  to  arrive  at  a  village  with  a 
military  escort,  which  was  to  lend  them  assistance.  Then, 
as  in  the  time  of  the  Stuarts,  the  soldiers  settled  the  minis- 
ter ;  and  this  was  what  they  called  "  the  Moderate  system." 
May  God  preserve  his  church  from  such  moderation ! 
"Wasting  and  destruction  are  in  their  paths!"  (Isaiah, 
lix.  7.) 

At  Nigg,  in  Ross-shire,  John  Balfour,  a  faithful  pastor, 
had  long  led  his  flock  to  the  "good  Shepherd  who  laid  down 
His  life  for  the  sheep."  On  his  death,  the  parishioners, 
knowing  that  the  conduct  of  the  minister  presented  to  them 
was  not  in  accordance  with  the  Gospel,  refused  to  call  him. 
But  on  the  day  of  ordination,  four  members  of  the  pres- 
bytery, who  were  Moderates,  (the  others  kept  at  a  distance,) 
*  Humana  prevalent  in  eo  plus  quam  divina. 


292  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

proceeded  to  the  church  to  settle  the  presentee.  The  church 
was  empty,  not  a  single  parishioner  appeared  ;  when  sud- 
denly, in  one  of  the  galleries,  a  pious  and  energetic  Scotch- 
man showed  himself,  and,  turning  to  the  four  astonished 
commissioners,  exclaimed  :  "  If  you  settle  a  man  to  the  walls 
of  the  kirk,  the  blood  of  the  parish  of  Nigg  will  be  required 
of  you."  It  was  in  vain  ;  the  wall  system  prevailed  :  what 
they  cared  for  was  not  the  living  stones  of  the  spiritual  house  ; 
it  was  merely  the  benches,  the  bricks,  and  plaster.  A  min- 
ister was  given  to  the  walls  of  this  church,  and  the  pious 
parishioners  never  more  entered  it. 

A  Mr.  Thomson  was  presented  by  the  patron  to  the  parish 
of  St.  Ninians.  Six  hundred  heads  of  families,  sixty  heri- 
tors, and  all  the  elders  of  the  parish,  except  one,  opposed 
him.  The  struggle  lasted  seven  years.  At  length,  the 
General  Assembly,  in  1773,  ordered  the  presbytery  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  ordination.  An  immense  crowd  filled  the  church  ; 
but  instead  of  the  usual  questions,  the  presiding  minister, 
alarmed  at  the  work  he  was  to  perform,  addressed  to  the 
presentee  this  affecting  and  solemn  appeal: — "I  conjure  you 
by  the  mercies  of  God,  for  the  sake  of  the  great  number 
of  souls  of  St.  Ninians,  by  that  peace  of  mind  which  you 
would  wish  in  a  dying  hour,  and  that  awful  and  impartial 
account  which,  in  a  little,  you  must  give  to  God  of  your 
own  soul,  and  the  souls  of  this  parish,  at  the  tribunal  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ, — give  it  up."  There  was  a  profound 
silence.  At  length  the  miserable  Thomson  said  dryly,  "  Sir, 
proceed  to  obey  your  superiors."  The  ordination  followed  ; 
but  the  souls  of  Christians  were  stirred  within  them,  and 
many  cried  out,  in  distress  :  "  O  God  !  when  wilt  thou 
break  the  yoke  of  our  burden,  the  staff  of  our  shoulder,  and 
the  rod  of  our  oppressor  ?"  (Isaiah,  ix.  4.) 

It  was  all  in  vain.  The  reign  of  Moderatism  became  more 
and  more  absolute.  Robertson  himself  was  soon  outdone, 
and  after  having  destroyed  the  liberties  of  the  church,  men 
were  found  willing  to  abolish  the  doctrines  of  the  Word  of 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  293 

God.  Several  ministers  who  preached  Unitarian  doctrines 
demanded  of  the  General  Assembly  the  abolition  of  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith.  Robertson  desired  it  to 
be  maintained ;  but  being  unwilling  to  engage  in  this  new 
struggle,  as  we  are  told  by  Sir  Henry  Moncrieff,  one  of  his 
most  intimate  friends,  he  retired.  This  happened  in  1780; 
he  was  then  only  fifty-nine  years  old,  and  his  faculties 
retained  their  full  vigor. 

The  ecclesiastical  influence  of  Robertson  was  perpetuated 
even  after  his  withdrawal.  He  died  in  1793  ;  and  the  peri- 
od to  which  he  has  given  his  name  thus  came  to  a  close  in 
the  days  of  the  convulsions,  the  murders,  and  the  destruc- 
tions of  the  French  Revolution.  This  is  worthy  of  observa- 
tion. 

Evangelical  Christianity  had  almost  expired  in  Scotland, 
and  absolutism,  error,  and  lethargy  had  subdued  the  free 
and  living  country  of  Melvill  and  of  Knox. 

Then  commenced  a  period  of  transition,  which  separates 
the  dismal  times '  of  Robertson  from  the  glorious  epoch  of 
Chalmers. 


III. 


CHALMERS     PERIOD    AND    THE    VETO. 

THE  horrors  of  the  French  Revolution,  spreading  terror  in 
all  directions,  awakened,  in  many  hearts,  the  consciousness 
of  the  crime  they  had  committed  in  abandoning  the  Gospel 
of  the  grace  of  God.  Though  Scotland  had  never  deviated 
from  the  faith  so  far  as  had  been  done  on  the  Continent,  and 
especially  in  France,  she  yet  accepted,  as  addressed  to  her- 
self, that  awful  voice  of  the  Lord,  which  then,  as  Hosea  says, 
"roared  like  a  lion."  (Hosea,  xi.  10.) 

The  whole  of  Great  Britain  experienced  a  shock  from 
heaven,  which,  in  many  places,  caused  the  living  waters  of 
faith  to  gush  forth  anew.  Christian  Missions  were  the  prin- 


294  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

cipal  channels  in  which  these  fresh  springs  of  truth  and  life 
were  now  to  flow. 

Robertson  had  buried  the  Church  of  Scotland  :  Chalmers 
raised  her  from  the  dead.  Or  rather  the  power  of  darkness 
had  prevailed  under  the  illustrious  name  of  the  historian  of 
Scotland  and  of  Charles  V. ;  the  power  from  on  high  was 
made  effectual  under  the  illustrious  name  of  the  great  theo- 
logian, the  great  philosopher,  the- great  philanthropist  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

Chalmers  did  not  stand  alone;  there  were  many  other 
Christians  who  also  set  their  hands  to  the  work.  Some  were 
even  engaged  in  it  before  him,  both  within  and  without  the 
Church.  The  names  of  Andrew  Thomson  and  of  Thomas 
M'Crie  must  here  take  precedence  of  others ;  yet  the  princi- 
pal place  belongs  to  Chalmers.  The  converson  of  a  great 
number  of  students  and  young  ministers  was  owing,  under 
God,  to  the  instructions  and  writings  of  this  divine.  His 
influence  is  of  quite  a  different  nature  from  Robertson's. 
The  latter  presided  immediately  in  the  church  courts,  and 
held  in  his  own  grasp  the  reins  of  administration :  Chalmers 
might  also  have  done  this  ;  but  he  is,*  perhaps,  in  a  less  de- 
gree than  Robertson,  a  man  of  ecclesiastical  government ; 
he  is  pre-eminently  a  man  of  thought,  of  instruction,  of 
preaching,  and  of  Christian  activity.  In  his  study,  in  his 
Divinity  Hall,  in  the  pulpit,  in  literary  societies,  and  among 
the  poor  of  his  people,  still  more  than  in  committees  and  de- 
bates, are  the  scenes  of  his  labors  to  be  sought.  However 
this  may  be,  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  it  was  the  two  most 
eminent  literary  men  of  Scotland,  who  presided  over  two 
such  contrary  periods  through  which  the  Church  of  Scotland 
has  successively  passed.  We  can  only  add,  that  to  live  in 
the  period  of  Chalmers,  and  yet  remain  attached  to  the  tra- 
ditions of  that  of  Robertson,  is  a  most  singular  and  revolting 
anachronism. 

*  I  leave  the  present  tense.  All  this  was  written  some  months  before 
the  death  of  Chalmers. — Blessed  be  his  name ! 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  295 

Evangelism  having  rapidly  grown  up,  Moderatism,  in  like 
manner,  declined.  Dr.  Duff,  the  first  missionary  sent  by  a 
national  Protestant  Church,  had  left  Scotland,  to  carry  into 
India  the  light  of  the  Gospel.  The  Reform  Bill,  in  1832, 
commenced  a  new  era,  the  influence  of  which  was  to  be  felt 
even  in  church  matters.  The  number  of  ministers  and  elders 
who  were  attached  to  the  Gospel  was  every  year  increasing. 
All  seemed  ready. 

It  was  then  that  Chalmers  stepped  forward.  He  com- 
menced the  re-construction  of  the  ecclesiastical  edifice  by  the 
same  means  through  which  its  ruin  had  been  begun.  He 
demanded  in  the  General  Assembly  of  1833,  that  the  dissent 
of  a  majority  of  the  male  heads  of  families,  resident  in  the 
parish  and  communicants,  should  be  of  conclusive  effect  in 
setting  aside  the  presentee.  This  motion  was  negatived  by 
a  majority  of  only  twelve  votes  ;  but  even,  at  that  time,  most 
of  the  ministers  were  in  favor  of  the  veto  of  the  parish. 

One  circumstance  which  seemed  to  extenuate  the  evils  of 
patronage  increased  the  number  of  those  ministers  who  voted 
in  an  evangelical  direction.  Frequently,  of  late  years,  the 
patrons  had  presented  pious  ministers  to  their  parishes. 
These  patrons  had  different  motives  for  so  doing.  They 
knew  that  such  men  would  possess  the  confidence  of  the 
people  in  a  high  degree  ;  that  under  their  influence  public 
order  and  morality  would  be  better  maintained ;  and  that 
even  temporal  prosperity  would  thereby  result  both  to  their 
tenants  and  to  their  estates.  Besides,  the  Reform  Bill,  by 
increasing  the  number  of  electors,  might  make  it  desirable 
for  the  patrons  (at  least  this  is  the  opinion  of  well-informed 
persons)  to  appoint  to  their  parishes  ministers  who  enjoyed 
the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  who  might  therefore  be 
able  to  give  their  landlords  an  effectual  support.  Therefore, 
although  evangelical  ministers  were  still  looked  upon  with 
some  degree  of  suspicion,  on  account  of  their  known  attach- 
ment to  the  liberties  of  the  church,  the  patrons  imagined 
that  when  once  these  young  preachers  were  well  settled  in 


296  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

a  good  parish  and  in  a  comfortable  manse,  they  would  be- 
come more  temperate ;  and  not  be  willing,  for  the  sake  of  a 
few  trivial  exaggerations,  to  endanger  their  prospects,  and 
those  of  their  families.  Tt  appeared  afterwards  that  they 
were  mistaken. 

That  Chalmers's  motion  should  have  been  rejected  the  first 
time  by  the  General  Assembly,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
It  is  not  unusual  in  England  to  see  a  measure  earned  trium- 
phantly at  last,  after  having  been  rejected  for  ten,  fifteen,  or 
twenty  years.  The  Slavery  question,  the  Corn  Law  bill,  and 
many  others,  have  proved  this.  They  set  to  work  again  the 
following  year  ;  and  this  time,  it  was  not  on  a  minister,  but  on 
an  elder,  Lord  Moncrieff,  one  of  the  first  lawyers  of  Scotland, 
that  the  important  motion  of  the  Veto  devolved.  It  was 
passed  on  the  27th  of  May,  1834,  by  a  majority  of  forty-six. 

This  is  the  famous  Veto  Act,  by  virtue  of  which  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  declares,  "  That  it  is  a  fundamental  law  of  this 
Church,  that  no  pastor  shall  be  intruded  on  any  congregation 
contrary  to  the  will  of  the  people ;  and  in  order  that  this 
principle  may  be  carried  into  full  effect,  the  General  Assem- 
bly, with  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  Presbyteries  of 
this  Church,  do  declare,  enact,  and  ordain,  that  it  shall  be 
an  instruction  to  Presbyteries,  that  if,  at  the  moderating  in 
a  call  to  a  vacant  pastoral  charge,  the  major  part  of  the 
male  heads  of  families,  members  of  the  vacant  congregation, 
and  in  full  communion  with  the  Church,  shall  disapprove  of 
the  person  in  whose  favor  the  call  is  proposed  to  be  mode- 
rated, in  such  cases,  disapproval  shall  be  deemed  sufficient 
ground  for  the  Presbytery  rejecting  such  a  person,  and  that 
he  shall  be  rejected  accordingly,  and  due  notice  thereof  forth- 
with given  to  all  concerned.  And  further  declare,  that  no 
person  shall  be  held  to  be  entitled  to  disapprove  as  aforesaid, 
who  shall  refuse,  if  required,  solemnly  to  declare,  in  presence 
of  the  Presbytery,  that  he  is  actuated  by  no  factious  or  ma- 
licious motive,  but  solely,  by  a  conscientious  regard  to  the 
spiritual  interest  of  himself  or  the  congregation." 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  297 

This  important  act  became,  if  not  the  cause,  at  least  the 
occasion,  of  the  creation  of  the  Free  Church.  It  is  therefore 
worth  while  pausing  for  a  moment  to  consider  it. 

To  form  a  just  estimate  of  the  subject,  it  is  requisite  to  go 
back  to  1712,  to  the  famous  act  of  Queen  Anne.  From  17 12 
to  1784,  that  is,  during  seventy- two  years,  the  national 
Church  of  Scotland  had  protested  against  the  Bill  which,  in 
contradiction  to  the  Treaty  of  Union,  re-established  Patron- 
age. Subsequently,  in  1784,  under  the  influence  of  the  phi- 
losophy of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  protest  had  been  dis- 
continued. But  now,  in  1833,  the  parishioners,  flocks,  pres- 
byteries, and  General  Assemblies  have  been  restored  to  life. 
Could  the  church  keep  silence  ?  could  she  do  less  than  had 
been  done  up  to  1784  by  a  cold  Moderatism?  Could  the 
period  of  Chalmers  yield  in  fidelity  to  the  period  of  Robert- 
son ?  Such  a  supposition  would  have  been  contrary  to  the 
plainest  common  sense. 

There  were  before  the  church  two  ways  of  repairing  the 
mischief  done  to  her  constitution  by  the  Jacobite  ministry 
of  Queen  Anne, — either  to  abolish  the  act  of  1712,  or  to 
accept  the  act,  at  the  same  time  seeking  to  correct  its  per- 
nicious effects.  The  former  way  was  more  decisive,  more 
hostile  ;  the  latter  milder  and  more  conciliatory.  Now,  the 
Moderate  church  of  the  eighteenth  century,  had  demanded 
the  decisive  solution ;  the  Evangelical  Church  of  the  nine- 
teenth chose  the  conciliatory  way ;  and  yet  the  vital  period 
of  Chalmers  has  been  accused  of  having  required  even  less 
than  the  lifeless  period  of  Robertson  ! 

This  Act  of  Queen  Anne  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  church, 
as  a  rock,  on  which,  year  after  year,  the  treasure  ship  of 
Scotland  struck  and  was  wrecked.  The  Veto  Act,  passed  in 
1834,  had,  for  its  object,  to  raise  a  barrier  round  the  reef  to 
prevent  such  disasters  in  future. 

The  prejudices  and  passions  of  the  world  would  not  per- 
rait  this.  The  act,  instead  of  preventing,  as  was  intended, 
these  multiplied  disasters,  occasioned  an  immense  one. 


298  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

Nevertheless,  the  shipwrecked  have  had  no  cause  to  com- 
plain. The  yawning  gulf  of  the  Maelstrom  has  not  swal- 
lowed them  up ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  their  misfortune  has 
opened  to  them  the  ports  of  a  new  world,  resplendent  with 
liberty,  light,  and  peace. 

The  right  of  the  flock  to  call  their  pastor  still  subsisted  in 
Scotland  ;  only  it  had  become  a  mere  form,  and  sometimes 
even  a  falsehood.  All  that  the  Veto  Act  proposed  to  do, 
was  to  make  this  legal  call  of  the  flock  a  reality,  by  remov- 
ing a  falsehood  which,  to  the  shame  of  the  church,  was  often 
repeated  within  her.  In  fact,  the  minister,  presented  by  the 
patron,  was  called  by  the  flock  according  to  the  following 
form : — 

"  We,  the  Heritors,  Elders,  Heads  of  Families  and  Parish- 
ioners of  the  Parish  of  within  the  bounds  of  the 

Presbytery  of  and  County  of ,  taking  into 

consideration  the  present  destitute  state  of  the  said  Parish, 

through  the  death  of  our  late  pastor,  the  Rev. , 

being  satisfied  with  the  learning,  abilities,  and  other  good 
qualifications  of  you,  Mr. ,  Preacher  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  having  heard  you  preach  to  our  satisfaction  and 

edification,  do  hereby  invite  and  call  you,  the  said  Mr. 

,  to  take  charge  and  oversight  of  this  Parish,  and  to 

come  and  labor  among  us  in  the  work  of  the  Gospel  min- 
istry ;  hereby  promising  to  you  all  due  respect  and  encour- 
agement in  the  Lord.  We  likewise  entreat  the  Reverend 

Presbytery  of  to  approve  and  concur  with  this  our 

most  cordial  call ;  and  to  use  all  the  proper  means  for  mak- 
ing the  same  effectual,  by  your  ordination  and  settlement 
among  us,  as  soon  as  the  steps  necessary  thereto  will  admit. 
In  witness  whereof  we  subscribe  these  presents,  at  the 
Church  of  on  the day  of , years." 

Now,  supposing  that,  as  sometimes  happened,  there  were  in 
the  parish  six  hundred  elders  and  communicants  against  this 
minister,  and  in  his  favor  only  one  member,  the  publican  of 
the  place  for  example ;  the  result  would  be,  that  the  form 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  299 

of  a  call,  which,  instead  of  saying,  "  I,  the  publican  of  such 
a  place  call  you,"  should  say,  "  We,  the  Heritors,  Elders, 
&c.  call  you,"  would,  officially,  and  in  a  sacred  matter,  utter 
a  falsehood.  The  Veto  was  meant  to  put  a  stop  to  this  im- 
morality ;  for  it  is  not  by  immoralities  and  untruths  that  the 
church  of  the  living  and  true  God  is  to  be  governed. 

It  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  better  for  the  church,  if, 
instead  of  passing  the  Veto  Act,  she  had  simply  decreed 
that  the  call  of  the  flock  could  only  be  valid  when  signed 
by  the  majority  of  the  elders  and  communicants.  This  mode 
would  have  been  more  unfavorable  to  the  patrons  than  the 
Veto ;  for  it  is  more  easy  to  find  people  who  will  abstain 
than  those  who  will  come  forward  to  oppose.  But  the  form 
would  then  have  been  more  natural,  and  the  morality  of  the 
measure  more  evident  to  all.  I  know  not  the  reasons  which 
prevented  it  from  being  adopted.  I  can  only  add  that  both 
measures — the  one  I  have  pointed  out,  and  that  which  was 
followed — come  precisely  to  the  same  thing,  and  the  one  as 
well  as  the  other  would  have  been  rejected  by  the  patrons. 
The  church,  according  to  my  proposition,  would  have  had 
the  form  more  completely  in  her  favor ;  but  I  do  not  think 
that  in  such  a  case  the  form  would  have  prevailed  over  the 
reality. 

The  state  in  which  the  church  then  was,  is  sufficient  to 
prove  the  necessity  of  re-establishing  the  truth  within  her. 
Such  had  been  the  sufferings  of  the  flocks  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Act  of  Queen  Anne,  that,  in  a  country  so  little 
inclined  to  dissent  as  Scotland,  six  hundred  new  congrega- 
tions had  formed  themselves  without  the  pale  of  the  church  ; 
while  the  latter,  notwithstanding  a  considerable  increase  of 
population,  onry  numbered  sixty  new  ones ;  and  even  these 
sixty  were  due  to  the  evangelical  life  which  afterwards  pro- 
duced the  Free  Church.  It  was  evident  that  the  church  was 
in  a  state  of  suffering,  and  it  was  necessary  to  use  some  means 
to  infuse  new  vigor  into  her  enfeebled  frame, 

If  we  examine  into  the  nature  of  the  relations  which  ought 


300  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

to  exist  between  a  pastor  and  his  flock,  we  shall  more  clearly 
recognize  the  necessity  for  a  law  like  that  we  are  now  con- 
sidering. 

The  pastoral  relationship  is,  with  the  Scotch,  of  a  spiritual 
nature,  based  upon  the  feeling  of  a  mutual  contract  agree- 
able to  the  Most  High.  If  a  congregation  may  not  refuse 
the  preacher  presented  to  them,  except  by  stating  under  dif- 
ferent heads  the  motives  of  their  dissent,  the  legality  of  which' 
the  superior  courts  are  afterwards  to  judge,  it  would  be  as 
if,  when  a  conjugal  union  was  to  be  formed  it  should  be  re- 
required,  not  that  the  parties  be  agreed,  and  have  a  mutual 
affection  for  each  other,  but  merely  that  their  interests  should 
coincide,  and  that  there  should  be  no  legal  obstacle  to  their 
marriage.  Must  a  girl  prove  to  her  father  or  guardian,  by 
depositions  taken  under  her  hand,  that  her  proposed  husband 
is  vicious,  in  debt,  or  obnoxious  to  the  law  ?  Would  it  not 
be  sufficient  for  her  to  state  her  conviction  that  this  man  could 
not  make  her  happy  ?  To  establish  a  truly  cordial  relation- 
ship between  the  minister  and  his  flock  ought  to  be  the  desire 
and  the  aim  of  the  church.  "  Not  for  that  we  have  dominion 
over  your  faith,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  but  are  helpers  of  your 
joy."  (2  Cor.  i.  24.) 

Will  all  this  be  considered  visionary  ?  Shall  we  throw 
away  a  vital  religion,  which  proposes,  above  all  things,  to 
satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  heart,  and  substitute  for  it  a 
religion  of  forms,  of  clergy,  of  tribunals,  and  of  political 
courts  ?  God  forbid ! 

If  there  is  any  thing  which,  in  my  opinion,  shows  to  what  a 
degree  of  spirituality  God  has  raised  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
it  is  this  intimacy  which  she  requires  between  the  pastor  and 
his  flock.  There  is  not  a  Christian,  nay,  not*even  a  philos- 
opher, who  ought  not  to  be  filled  with  admiration  at  this 
profound  and  true  understanding  of  the  most  sacred  of  all 
relationships.  And  this  is  the  venerable  sentiment  which 
the  tribunals  would  trample  under  foot.  Shall  we  tear  the 
Breath  from  the  virgin's  brow  ? 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  301 

The  adversaries  of  the  church  required  that  the  flock 
should  categorically  state  the  motives  for  their  refusal,  and 
called  upon  the  higher  church  courts  to  decide  for  or  against 
these  motives.  Thus,  the  right  of  refusal  was  misplaced ; 
the  decision  was  taken  from  the  flock,  and  given  to  these 
church  courts.  A  right  which  I  possess,  under  the  condi- 
tion that  in  every  case  the  exercise  of  this  right  should  de- 
pend upon  another,  is  no  right  at  all ;  it  is  a  mere  shadow. 

Besides,  a  presentee  may  not  be  immoral,  he  may  not  be 
ignorant,  he  may  not  be  an  infidel,  and  he  may  even  be 
strictly  orthodox,  without  possessing  vital  godliness,  without 
being  converted,  and  consequently  without  the  power  either 
to  convert  or  to  edify  others.  Now,  it  was  only  on  the  three 
first  points  that  the  parishioners  were  to  be  heard.  It  was 
not  to  ascertain  whether  the  presentee  had  "  passed  from 
death  unto  life,"  as  the  Scripture  says  (1  John  iii.  14).  This 
is  a  matter  which  eludes  judicial  appreciation,  and,  yet,  for 
poor  Christians,  it  is  one  of  vital  import. 

The  great  theologian  of  Scotland  rose  against  these  claims 
of  the  friends  of  Patronage.  "  The  Christian  people,"  said 
Chalmers,  "  may  not  be  able  to  state  their  objection,  save  in 
a  very  general  way ;  and  far  less  be  able  to  plead  and  to 
vindicate  it  at  the  bar  of  a  Presbytery ;  and  yet  the  objec- 
tion be  a  most  substantial  one  notwithstanding,  and  such  as 
ought,  both  in  all  Christian  reason,  and  Christian  expediency, 
to  set  aside  the  presentation. 

"  I  will  not  speak  of  the  moral  barrier  that  is  created  to 
the  usefulness  of  a  minister  by  the  mere  general  dislike 
of  a  people — for  this  may  give  way  to  experience  of  his 
worth.  But  there  is  another  dislike  than  to  the  person  of  a 
minister; — a  dislike  to  his  preaching,  which  may  not  be 
groundless,  even  though  the  people  be  wholly  incapable  of 
themselves  arguing  or  justifying  the  grounds  of  it.  Such  is 
the  adaptation  of  Scripture  to  the  state  of  humanity,  that 
even  the  most  illiterate  might  perceive  it  most  intelligently 
and  soundly.  Yet  when  required  to  give  the  reasons  of  his 


302  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

objections  to  a  minister  at  the  bar  of  his  Presbytery,  all  the 
poor  man  can  say  for  himself  might  be,  that  he  does  not 
preach  the  Gospel ;  or  that,  in  his  sermon,  there  is  no  food 
for  his  soul.  '  /  was  an  hungered  and  you  gave  me  no  meat.' 
It  was  denying  the  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  human  na- 
ture, to  deny  that  this  is  a  case  which  may  be  often  and  le- 
gitimately realized.  With  a  perfect  independence  on  the 
conceits  and  the  follies,  and  the  wayward  extravagance  of 
the  humors  of  the  populace,  I  have,  nevertheless,  the  pro- 
foundest  respect  for  all  those  manifestations  of  the  popular 
feeling,  which  are  founded  on  an  accordancy  between  the  felt 
state  of  human  nature  and  the  subject  matter  of  the  Gospel ; 
and,  more  especially,  when  their  demand  is  for  those  truths 
which  are  of  chief  prominency  in  the  Bible.  But  in  very 
proportion  to  my  sympathy,  and  my  depth  of  veneration  for 
the  Christian  appetency  of  such  cottage  patriots,  would  be 
the  painfulness  I  should  feel  when  the  cross-questionings  of 
a  court  of  review  were  brought  to  bear  upon  them ;  and  the 
men  bamboozled  and  bereft  of  utterance  by  the  reasonings 
which  they  could  not  re-argue,  or,  perhaps,  the  ridicule 
which  they  could  not  withstand,  were  left  to  the  untold 
agony  of  their  own  hearts — because  within  the  establish- 
ment which  they  loved,  they  could  not  find,  in  its  Sabbath 
ministrations,  or  week-day  services,  the  doctrine  that  was 
dear  to  them. 

"  To  overbear  such  men,"  exclaimed  the  Scottish  divine, 
whom  all  Europe  looked  upon  with  respect,  "  is  the  high- 
way to  put  an  extinguisher  on  the  Christianity  of  our  land, — 
the  Christianity  of  our  ploughmen,  our  artisans,  our  men  of 
handicraft  and  of  hard  labor  :  yet  not  the  Christianity  theirs 
of  deceitful  imagination,  or  of  implicit  deference  to  author- 
ity ;  but  the  Christianity  of  deep,  I  will  add,  of  rational  be- 
lief, firmly  and  profoundly  seated  in  the  principles  of  our 
moral  nature,  and  nobly  accredited  by  the  virtues  of  our 
well-conditioned  peasantry.  In  the  older  time  of  Presby- 
tery,— that  time  of  Scriptural  Christianity  in  our  pulpits, 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  303 

and  of  psalmody  in  our  cottages, — these  men  grew  and  mul- 
tiplied in  the  land;  and,  though  derided  in  the  heartless 
literature,  and  discountenanced  and  disowned  in  the  heart- 
less politics  of  other  days,  it  is  their  remnant  which  acts  as 
a  preserving  salt  among  our  people,  and  which  constitutes 
the  real  strength  and  glory  of  the  Scottish  nation." 

An  anecdote  related  by  Chalmers  in  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  1840,  will  illustrate  this  idea  more  forcibly.  "Au 
illiterate  female,"  said  he,  "  in  humble  life,  applied  for  ad- 
mission to  the  sacrament ;  but  at  the  customary  examina- 
tion, could  not  frame  one  articulate  reply  to  a  single  ques- 
tion that  was  put  to  her.  It  was  in  vain  to  ask  her  of  the 
offices  or  mediation  of  Christ,  or  of  the  purposes  of  His 
death.  Not  one  word  could  be  drawn  out  of  her  ;  and  yet 
there  was  a  certain  air  of  intelligent  seriousness,  the  mani- 
festations of  right  and  appropriate  feeling — a  heart  and  a 
tenderness  indicated,  not  by  one  syllable  of  utterance,  but 
by  the  natural  signs  of  emotion  which  fitly  responded  to  the 
topics  of  the  clergyman,  whether  she  was  spoken  to  of  the 
sin  that  condemned,  or  of  the  Saviour  who  atoned  for  her. 
Still,  as  she  could  make  no  distinct  reply  to  any  of  his 
questions,  he  refused  to  enroll  her  as  a  communicant ;  when 
she,  on  retiring,  called  out,  in  the  fulness  of  her  heart,  '  I 
cannot  speak  for  Him,  but  I  could  die  for  Him  !'  The  min- 
ister, overpowered,  handed  to  her  a  sacramental  token ;  and 
with  good  reason,  although  not  a  reason  fell  in  utterance 
from  her.  And  so,  too,  with  the  collective  mind  of  many  a 
rustic  congregation,  that  thinks  aright,  and  feels  aright,  with- 
out one  propounded  reason,  which,  if  put  into  a  record  could 
adequately  represent  the  whole  truth  of  sentiment  that 
kindles  in  their  bosoms,  and  lights  up  there  a  clearness  of 
perception,  as  well  as  sensibility,  which,  however  beyond 
the  reach  of  their  expression,  is  of  one  analysis,  gives  all  the 
authority  of  justice  to  their  collective  voice.  To  confine  the 
Presbytery  to  the  reason  of  these  men,  and  debar  us  from 


304  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

all  the  conclusions  grounded  on  direct  sympathy  with  the 
men  themselves,  were  to  do  them  the  grossest  injustice." 

Thus  spoke  Chalmers.  I  do  not  think  that  the  most  sa- 
cred interests  of  the  church  have  ever  been  defended  with 
more  admirable  eloquence,  and  more  triumphant  evidence. 

Yet  a  question  presented  itself :  Should  not  the  Veto  Act, 
passed  by  the  General  Assembly,  have  been  approved  by 
Parliament,  in  order  to  render  it  legal  ? 

That  the  Parliament  ought  to  have  sanctioned  it,  does  not, 
in  my  opinion,  admit  of  a  doubt.  The  Parliament  ought, 
even  now,  to  do  a  great  deal  more ;  it  ought  to  repeal  the 
illegal  Act  of  Queen  Anne,  and  thus  abolish  patronage. 
This  is  required  from  it  by  the  fajth  of  the  treaties  on  which 
the  Union  of  Scotland  and  England  is  based. 

It  is,  therefore,  evident,  that  as  the  legislative  body  ought 
to  have  done  more,  it  was  still  more  incumbent  upon  it  to  do 
less. 

The  Parliament  ought  eagerly  to  have  seized  the  proffered 
opportunity  of  redressing  the  unlawful  acts  of  its  despotic 
predecessors  in  the  stormy  periods  of  Jacobitism.  Every 
thing  seemed  to  indicate  that  this  would  be  the  course  of 
the  civil  power. 

In  fact,  Lord  Moncrieff,  who  moved  the  Veto  Act  in  the 
General  Assembly,  and  who  was,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
one  of  the  highest  legal  authorities  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, had  proposed  this  act,  as  being  "  entirely  within  the 
powers  of  the  church."  The  Assembly  had  also  the  advice 
of  her  own  Advocate,  and  other  distinguished  lawyers 
among  her  members.  She  had,  besides,  in  her  favor  the 
Lord  Advocate  of  Scotland,  the  celebrated  Lord  Jeffrey,  in- 
trusted by  the  crown  with  the  defence  of  its  judicial  rights. 
Lastly,  she  possessed  the  approbation  of  the  Lord  High 
Commissioner,  sent  by  His  Majesty,  to  be  present  as  his 
representative  at  the  debates  of  the  General  Assembly. 

Nay  more,  Parliament  appeared  to  incline  in  favor  of  the 
Veto.  Lord  Brougham,  who  was  then  Chancellor,  said,  on 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  305 

the  23rd  of  July,  1834,  when  presenting  to  the  House  the 
petition  for  the  Abolition  of  Patronage  : — "  The  recent  Act 
passed  in  the  Assembly  (the  Veto  Act)  will  go  a  great  way 
in  smoothing  the  path  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  It  would 
have  been  premature  of  the  legislature  to  adopt  any  meas- 
ures without  the  acquiescence  of  that  important,  body.  It 
is  most  satisfactory  to  my  mind,  that  they  have  taken  up 
the  question  in  the  spirit  they  have  done ;  and  that  the  re- 
sult of  their  deliberations  has  been,  the  adoption  of  those  im- 
portant resolutions  which  have  passed  in  their  last  session." 

The  defenders  of  the  rights  of  the  church  did  not  come 
forward  rashly.  They  had  cautiously  felt  their  way,  and 
were  supported  by  the  most  respectable  authorities. 

But  supposing  that  Parliament  should  refuse  to  sanction 
the  Veto,  would  the  act,  in  that  case,  remain  legal  ? 

I  have  some  doubts  on  this  matter.  The  Christian  must 
be  subject  to  the  government  de  facto,  even  when  that  gov- 
ernment has  not  right  on  its  side.  J  therefore  think,  that 
•what  really  did  happen  in  1843  was  the  only  solution  pos- 
sible ;  and  that  the  church  could  not  maintain  her  Veto  in 
spite  of  the  state,  otherwise  than  by  renouncing  all  alliance 
with  that  state. 

The  Veto  Act,  from  1833  to  1843,  marked  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  Moderatism  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  the 
commencement  of  that  of  evangelical  principles.  Thus, 
precisely  a  century  after  the  first  secession  in  1733  had  pro- 
claimed the  necessity  of  a  reformation  of  ecclesiastical  gov- 
ernment, the  ancient  principles  of  Scottish  Presbyterianism 
were  reinstated  in  the  church. 

The  kindly  effects  of  the  Veto  were  not  long  in  displaying 
themselves  ;  and  they  were  manifold.  That  class  of  divinity 
students,  so  numerous  everywhere,  and  who  had  hitherto 
been  so  in  Scotland — young  men  without  piety  and  without 
a  call — who  devoted  themselves  to  the  ministry  as  to  a 
business  by  which  they  were  to  gain  a  living,  almost  entirely 
disappeared ;  and  pious  and  devoted  pastors,  men  of  faith 


306  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

and  men  of  prayer,  as  in  the  early  times,  rapidly  increased 
within  the  church.  Other  blessings  also  crowned  this  work. 
Thirty  congregations,  which  had  seceded  from  the  church, 
returned  to  her  bosom.  At  the  same  time,  though  during 
the  hundred  years  previous  to  the  Veto,  only  sixty-three 
churches  had  been  built  in  Scotland  by  voluntary  contribu- 
tions, two  hundred  were  erected  during  the  nine  years  which 
elapsed  between  the  passing  of  the  Veto  and  the  disruption 
of  1843.  Thus,  before  the  Veto,  there  had  been  but  little 
more  than  half  a  church  in  a  year,  and  afterwards  more  than 
twenty-two  in  the  same  time.  Even  in  the  very  year  follow- 
ing the  Veto — from  1834  to  1835 — sixty-four  new  churches 
were  seen  to  rise  ;  that  is,  in  a  single  year,  one  church  more 
than  under  the  influence  of  patronage  during  a  whole  cen- 
tury. But  immediately  after  this,  a  powerful  opposition  was 
formed  against  the  church. 

IV. 

AUCHTERARDER    AND    MARNOCH. 

THE  opposition  included,  both  in  Scotland  and  in  England, 
a  considerable  number  of  honorable  men,  to  whose  public 
characters  we  are  happy  to  pay  the  tribute  of  merited  respect. 

There  were  politicians  who,  with  minds  pre-occupied  above 
all  things  with  the  state,  and  its  prerogatives,  were  afraid  of 
the  independence  of  the  church,  and  desired  to  establish  the 
ecclesiastical  supremacy  of  the  government. 

There  were  lawyers,  who,  by  the  very  forms  into  which 
their  minds  had  been  moulded  by  their  professional  studies, 
were  unprepared  to  conceive  a  purely  spiritual  question ; 
who  exaggerated,  without  being  aware  of  it,  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  civil  courts  :  and  claimed  to  bring  before  them  those 
cases  which,  by  the  constitutions  both  of  church  and  state, 
ought  not  to  be  subjected  to  their  government. 

There  were  patrons,  who  believed  themselves  possessed  of 


SCOTTISH   STRUGGLES.  307 

incontestable  rights  to  the  appointment  of  ministers,  and 
who  were  unwilling  to  be  deprived  of  them  by  the  church. 

But  if  we  may  believe  the  prevailing  sentiment  in  Scot- 
land, there  was  yet  a  fourth  class,  which  was  one  of  the 
most  influential.  There  were  men  opposed  to  the  Gospel. 
Perceiving  that  the  Veto  Act,  which  they  had  at  first  re- 
garded merely  as  a  liberal  measure,  would  favor  the  pre- 
eminence of  evangelical  principles  in  Scotland,  these  men 
turned  against  it.  The  resurrection  of  the  ancient  Presby- 
terianism,  with  its  faith,  its  vitality,  its  decision,  its  strict 
morality,  its  Christian  Avorks,  and  its  independence,  alarmed 
the  world.  Life  has  always  terrified  the  dead. 

It  was  thought  necessary  to  get  rid  of  some  of  the  most 
pious  and  decided  leaders  of  the  movement.  Finding  that 
there  was  too  much  animation  and  strength  in  the  body  of 
the  church,  it  was  determined,  as  one  of  our  Swiss  govern- 
ments (Vaud)  has  lately  done,  to  give  that  body  an  effectual 
bleeding ;  to  open  a  vein,  and  draw  from  it  its  richest  blood. 

These  various  opposing  parties  set  immediately  to  work. 
Let  us  mark  their  first  steps. 

On  the  14th  October,  1834,  the  parish  of  Auchterarder 
being  vacant,  Lord  Kinnoull  presented  to  it,  as  pastor,  Mr. 
Robert  Young,  and  the  flock  was  required  to  meet  for  mod- 
erating in  the  call.  This  parish  contained  three  thousand 
one  hundred  and  eighty-two  souls.  When  the  time  arrived 
for  signing  the  call,  three  individuals  of  the  three  thousand 
one  hundred  and  eighty-two  came  forward.  Three  individ- 
uals !  one  of  these  was  his  lordship's  factor,  who  did  not 
reside  in  the  parish ;  the  other  two  were  householders  in  the 
place,  Michael  Tod,  and  Peter  Clerk.  But  at  the  same  time, 
two  hundred  and  eighty  heads  of  families,  almost  the  whole 
of  the  communicants,  for  the  number  on  the  roll  was  three 
hundred  and  thirty,  signed  an  act  by  which  they  disapproved 
of  the  presentee,  whom  they  did  not  consider  fit  for  their 
edification.  I  will  not  speak  of  the  individual  personally ; 
he  is  still  living  ;  besides,  I  am  unacquainted  with  him,  ex- 


308  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

cept  by  sight.  One  day,  as  I  was  crossing  the  bridge  of 
Perth,  in  company  with  an  Elder  of  the  Established  Church, 
Mr.  Young  was  passing  also :  he  pointed  him  out  to  me, 
saying,  "There  is  the  man  who  was  the  first  occasion  of  all 
our  troubles."  My  friend  even  stopped  a  moment,  and  ex- 
changed a  few  words  with  him.  My  knowledge  of  him  is 
confined  to  this. 

This  matter  was  brought,  in  succession,  before  the  Pres- 
bytery, the  Synod,  and  the  General  Assembly.  All  these 
ecclesiastical  bodies  decided  in  favor  of  the  flock.  Lord 
Kinnoull  and  Mr.  Young  then  appealed  to  the  Court  of  Ses- 
sion; and  this  body,  which,  by  the  decisions  of  1571,  several 
times  recognized  by  themselves,  particularly  in  1749  in  the 
case  of  Dunse,  had  no  right  to  interfere  in  cases  of  election, 
calling,  or  admission  of  ministers  to  ecclesiastical  functions, — 
this  civil  court  decided,  by  eight  votes  against  five,  that  the 
rejection  of  the  presentee  on  the  ground  of  the  dissent  of  the 
people  was  illegal,  and  ordered  the  Presbytery  to  alter  their 
resolution,  and  to  ordain  the  presentee. 

I  do  not  think  that  in  any  of  the  Protestant  churches  of  the 
Continent  a  single  minister  could  be  found,  (unless,  perhaps, 
among  the  most  decided  Rationalists  and  Unitarians,)  who 
would  consent  to  ordain  a  minister  for  the  sake  of  obedience 
to  a  magistrate's  command.  I  have  seen  some  ministers  well 
known  for  an  attachment,  perhaps  even  exaggerated,  to  the 
principles  of  nationality,  disclaim  the  idea  with  abhorrence. 
It  is  an  enormity  unheard  of  even  in  England.  More  sym- 
pathy might  have  been  expected  from  the  bench  of  bishops, 
at  the  idea  of  this  enormity,  which  has  been  attempted  in 
Scotland  alone.  No  bishop  would  ordain  a  minister  by  order 
of  a  civil  court.  What  also  renders  this  act  still  more  strik- 
ing is  the  circumstance,  that  the  only  country  of  Christen- 
dom in  which  these  unreasonable  encroachments  of  the"  rulers 
have  taken  place,  is  the  very  one  in  which  the  principles  of 
the  liberty  of  the  church  have  been  most  fully  developed. 

Her  whole  history  most  clearly  exhibits,  that  if  the  church 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  309 

is  not  the  mistress  of  the  state,  yet  neither  is  she  the  servant. 
Scotland  shed  her  most  precious  blood  in  the  course  of  the 
seventeenth  century  for  the  defence  of  her  spiritual  independ- 
ence. She  could  not  now  abandon  it.  And  if  there  were 
still  worldly  people,  insensible  either  to  the  doctrine  of  evan- 
gelical freedom  or  to  the  memory  of  their  fathers,  yet  at  least 
they  should  have  remembered  that  these  very  principles 
formed  the  basis  of  the  Treaty  of  Union  between  England 
and  Scotland. 

Another  fact  soon  presented  itself.  The  minister  of  the 
parish  of  Marnoch  had  been  obliged,  on  account  of  his  age 
and  infirmities,  to  employ  an  assistant,  Mr.  John  Edwards, 
who,  during  the  three  years  that  he  officiated  in  that  capac- 
ity, made  himself  so  much  disliked  by  the  parishioners,  that 
the  old  pastor,  yielding  to  the  general  desire,  removed  him. 
The  minister  being  now  dead,  the  patron,  Lord  Fife,  presented 
this  same  Mr.  Edwards,  on  the  27th  of  September,  1837,  and 
a  day  was  appointed  for  moderating  in  the  call.  But  when 
the  time  came  for  signing  it,  all  the  parishioners  sat  still; 
and  only  one  came  forward, — the  innkeeper  of  Aberchirder. 
At  the  same  time  the  six  elders  who  formed  the  session,  and 
two  hundred  and  fifty -four  heads  of  families,  out  of  two 
hundred  and  ninety-three,  declared  they  could  not  call  this 
preacher.  The  ministry  of  a  man  who  had  already  officiated 
for  three  years  in  the  parish,  and  who  was  then  desired  by  no 
one  but  the  innkeeper,  could  not  certainly  conduce  to  the 
edification  of  souls ;  the  patron,  therefore,  wisely  withdrew 
the  presentee.  But,  wonderful  to  relate,  the  Presbytery  of 
Strathbogie,  to  which  Marnoch  belonged,  and  the  majority 
.of  which  was  composed  of  men  devoted  to  Moderatism,  re- 
solved to  support  Mr.  Edwards.  The  superior  church  autho- 
rities, the  Synod,  and  the  General  Assembly,  decided,  on  the 
contrary,  in  favor  of  the  flock. 

Another  candidate,  Mr.  Henry,  was  now  presented  by  the 
patron ;  but  Mr.  Edwards,  determined  upon  maintaining  what 
he  called  his  rights,  applied  to  the  civil  courts.  The  Court 


810  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

of  Session  decided  in  his  favor  ;  and  the  Presbytery,  without 
regard  to  the  superior  authority  of  the  church,  to  which  they 
owed  obedience,  resolved  to  settle  Mr.  Edwards  as  minister 
of  Marnoch. 

It  was  then  that  Dr.  Candlish,  a  minister  in  the  vigor  of 
his  age,  of  vital  piety  and  unconquerable  courage,  endowed 
with  prompt  and  just  understanding,  and  with  manly  and 
powerful  eloquence,  arose  in  the  Commission  of  the  General 
Assembly,  and  proposed  an  energetic  measure,  yet  conform- 
able to  the  law.  He  demanded  the  suspension  of  the  seven 
disobedient  members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Strathbogie.  This 
motion  was  carried  by  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  against 
fourteen. 

The  strife  had  now  commenced  between  the  civil  and  the 
ecclesiastical  courts,  and  a  mighty  struggle  ensued  between 
these  two  powers,  which  was  not,  it  is  true,  to  bring  in  its 
train  either  drowning  or  the  gibbet,  but  which  was  destined 
to  end  in  the  divorce  and  entire  separation  of  the  two  powers. 
This  solution  is  at  least  worth  the  other. 

The  suspended  ministers,  astonished  and  irritated  at  this 
bold  measure  of  their  ecclesiastical  superiors,  again  had  re- 
course to  the  civil  courts,  and  the  latter  forbade  the  sentence 
of  the  Assembly  to  be  intimated  in  the  churches,  church- 
yards, or  school-houses,  and  interdicted  any  other  ministers 
than  the  seven  recusants  from  preaching  in  their  churches. 
The  church  recognized  the  rights  of  the  civil  power  over  the 
public  buildings,  but  intimated  its  sentence  in  the  open  air ; 
and  the  ministers  sent  to  supply  the  place  of  those  whom  the 
Assembly  had  suspended,  preached  the  Gospel  in  places  in- 
dependent of  the  state. 

This  firmness  of  the  General  Assembly  excited  still  more 
the  anger  of  the  world,  and  reproaches  and  accusations  were 
uttered  against  it  on  all  sides  ;  but,  says  the  Word  of  God, 
"  If  ye  be  reproached  for  the  name  of  Christ,  happy  are 
ye :  for  the  Spirit  of  Glory  and  of  God  resteth  upon  you." 
(1  Peter,  iv.  14.)  This  promise  was  wonderfully  realized.  A 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  311 

remarkable  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  took  place  at  that 
time,  and  there  was  in  Scotland  a  religious  revival,  such  as 
had  not  been  witnessed  for  more  than  a  century.  At  Kil- 
sjth,  Dundee,  Perth,  Blairgowrie,  Jedburgh,  Kelso ;  in 
Ross-shire,  Sotherlandshire,  and  other  places,  multitudes  of 
sinners  forsook  their  evil  ways,  and  the  backsliding  members 
of  the  church  returned  to  their  first  love.  Even  in  the  par- 
ishes of  the  suspended  ministers,  the  substitutes  sent  by  the 
General  Assembly,  who  preached  in  barns,  in  tents,  and  in 
the  fields,  often  saw  the  auditory  affected  to  tears.  The  Gos- 
pel thus  penetrated  into  the  very  strongholds  of  Moderatism. 
"  Our  soul  was  cleaving  to  the  dust,  but  Thou  hast  quick- 
ened us  according  to  thy  word."  (Psalm  cxix.  26.) 

The  delay  granted  by  the  General  Assembly  to  the  seven 
ministers  of  Strathbogie,  to  submit  themselves  to  their  au- 
thority, having  been  ineffectual,  a  formal  indictment  was 
served  upon  them,  for  having  demanded  and  received  from  a 
civil  court  the  power  of  exercising  the  sacred  functions ; 
though  that  power  had  been  taken  from  them  by  a  spiritual 
court,  the  only  lawful  authority  in  such  matters,  according  to 
the  Confession  of  Faith,  which  they  themselves  had  sworn  to. 
This  accusation  was  carried  at  two  different  times ;  the  first 
by  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  to  sixty-six,  and  the  second, 
three  months  later,  by  ninety-one  to  fifteen. 

The  seven  suspended  ministers  yet  hesitated  to  take  the 
last  step,  and  ordain  Mr.  Edwards  as  minister  at  Marnoch. 
He,  however,  determined  to  go  on  to  the  end,  and  brought 
an  action  against  the  Presbytery,  demanding,  if  they  refused 
to  induct  him,  the  sum  of  £l  1,000  for  damages  and  expenses. 
The  court  did  not  hesitate  to  sanction  these  proceedings  by 
its  justly  revered  authority,  and  ordered  the  Presbytery  to 
induct  Mr.  Edwards.  The  civil  courts  thus  annihilated  the 
distinction  which  for  three  centuries  had  been  established 
between  spiritual  and  secular  matters  ;  they  took  into  their 
own  hands  "  the  power  of  the  keys,"  which  the  Confession 
of  Faith  denies  to  the  civil  magistrate.  Nothing  similar  to 


312  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

this  had  been  seen  in  Scotland,  except  during  the  disastrous 
times  of  Charles  II.  All  was  now  prepared  for  carrying  out 
their  decision. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1841,  so  great  a  quantity  of  snow 
had  fallen  that  the  country  was  completely  covered,  and  the 
roads  rendered  almost  impassable.  Yet  the  next  day,  not- 
withstanding the  severity  of  the  weather,  a  considerable 
crowd,  consisting  of  about  two  thousand  persons,  repaired 
to  Marnoch  from  all  the  adjacent  places.  The  parishioners 
filled  the  body  of  the  church,  but  the  galleries  and  the  ap- 
proaches were  filled  with  strangers.  The  seven  suspended 
ministers,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Edwards,  entered  the  build- 
ing ;  and  a  strange  scene  now  commenced  in  the  sanctuary 
of  the  living  God.  The  legal  agent  of  the  parishioners  hav- 
ing asked  the  suspended  ministers  whether  they  were  sent  by 
the  General  Assembly,  the  supreme  authority  of  the  church  ; 
they  refused  to  answer,  and  declared  that  they  intended  to 
proceed  in  their  functions  in  the  name  of  the  law.  Then  the 
voice  of  the  parish  was  heard  in  a  clear,  serious,  solemn 
manner.  A  protest,  signed  by  four  hundred  and  fifty  com- 
municants, was  read  in  the  name  of  the  elders,  heads  of  fam- 
ilies, and  other  church  members  of  Marnoch,  wherein  they 
declared  the  interference  of  the  civil  courts  in  spiritual  things 
illegal ;  disclaimed  the  jurisdiction  of  the  seven  ministers 
suspended  from  ecclesiastical  functions  by  the  highest  au- 
thority of  the  church ;  and  declared  themselves  ready  to 
prove,  before  any  lawful  Presbytery,  their  objections  to  the 
life  and  doctrine  of  Mr.  Edwards.  "  You  and  Mr.  Edwards," 
said  the  poor  parishioners  of  Marnoch,  in  conclusion,  to  the 
Presbytery — "  you  drive  us  from  this  house  in  which  we  and 
our  fathers  have  so  often  met,  and  in  which  we  would  gladly 
have  assembled  ourselves  together  till  the  day  of  our  death. 
We  leave  this  meeting ;  but  our  hearts  remain  attached  to 
the  church  of  our  fathers." 

After  these  words  the  whole  flock  arose.  There  were  aged 
men  with  heads  white  as  the  snow  which  then  covered  the 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  313 

hills ;  men  in  the  prime  of  life,  full  of  decision  and  energy ; 
youths,  just  entering  into  manhood,  who  had,  as  yet,  sat  but 
once  or  twice  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  All  arose  as  one 
man.  In  the  pews  lay  their  Bibles  and  Psalm-books,  many 
of  which  had  already  served  more  than  one  generation,  and 
had  never  for  a  century  left  the  place  where  they  were  now 
lying.  Every  parishioner  took  up  his  Bible  and  Psalm-book, 
and  all  in  a  body  quitted  the  temple  of  their  fathers,  leaving 
the  seven  ministers  to  ordain  to  the  walls  the  presentee, 
whose  only  partisan,  the  innkeeper,  had  not  even  made  his 
appearance.  The  building  remained  in  the  possession  of 
Edwards  ;  but  without  the  flock,  without  their  Bibles.  An 
enemy  had  made  forcible  entry  into  the  citadel ;  but  the  gar- 
rison, overpowered,  yet  not  conquered,  had  evacuated  it  with 
their  arms  and  baggage,  and  the  bare  walls  alone  remained. 
The  people  continued  leaving  the  building.  All  were  sad, 
many  shed  tears.  These  pious  men  were  seen  crossing  the 
snow-covered  fields  slowly  and  mournfully,  wrapt  in  their 
plaids,  with  their  Bibles  under  their  arms,  and  looking  back, 
from  time  to  time,  to  the  house  of  their  prayers  and  their 
praises.  After  the  congregation  had  departed,  the  strangers 
who  surrounded  the  church  rushed  in,  and  some,  indignant 
at  the  wrong  done  to  their  countrymen,  caused  a  little  con- 
fusion. As  soon  as  order  was  restored,  the  usual  questions 
were  put  to  Edwards  : — "  Are  not  zeal  for  the  honor  of  God, 
love  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  desire  for  saving  souls  your  great 
motives  and  chief  inducements  to  enter  into  the  office  of  the 
holy  ministry,  and  not  worldly  designs  and  interests  ?"  He 
answered  audibly,  "  Yes."  At  this  reply  a  shudder  of  awe 
and  horror — a  deep  and  solemn  feeling — pervaded  the  As- 
sembly. The  act  of  ordination  was  then  completed,  by  or- 
der of  a  civil  court,  and  without  the  presence  of  a  single 
parishioner.  After  this,  the  seven  suspended  ministers  with- 
drew amidst  the  hisses  of  the  crowd ;  and  the  new-made 
pastor  walked  out  surrounded  by  policemen. 

14 


314  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

The  Marnocli  intrusion*  caused  great  sensation  throughout 
Scotland,  and  Christians  everywhere  gave  proofs  of  their 
brotherly  love  to  this  poor  but  faithful  flock.  The  summer 
following,  a  new  and  pretty  church,  built  by  the  contribu- 
tions of  their  brethren,  rose  upon  those  hills ;  to  which  the 
parishioners,  driven  from  their  former  temple,  could  carry 
their  dear  old  Bibles  and  Psalm-books,  and  again  sing,  as 
their  fathers  had  done,  the  praises  of  the  thrice  Holy  God, 
who  is  in  all  times  the  refuge  and  the  salvation  of  His  people. 

V. 

THE   THIRD    REFORMATION. 

WHILE  these  events  were  passing,  the  church,  and  the 
General  Assembly  which  represented  her,  remained  firmly 
attached  to  the  principles  of  her  fathers.  At  the  meeting 
of  Assembly  in  1838,  the  decisions  of  the  civil  courts  were 
laid  before  them.  The  ministers  and  elders  who  had  repaired 
to  their  posts,  were  all  fully  sensible  of  the  importance  of  the 
crisis.  "  It  now  remains  to  be  seen,"  said  they,  "  whether 
the  civil  courts  are  the  rulers  of  the  church,  or  the  ministers 
and  elders,  to  whom  Christ,  according  to  our  Confession,  has 
intrusted  its  government.  Shall  we  be  less  free  than  the 
bishops  of  the  English  Church,  of  whom  no  one  dares  to  ask 
an  account  of  their  reasons  for  refusing  to  ordain  any  presen- 
tee ?  We  will  give  up  all, — our  churches,  our  manses,  our 
glebes,  our  stipends, — rather  than  acknowledge  the  encroach- 
ments by  which  a  worldly  power  intends  to  trample  under 
foot  the  inheritance  of  our  fathers." 

So  spoke  these  noble  Scotchmen.  A  minister  of  Glasgow, 
Dr.  Buchanan,  proposed  the  following  resolution : — "  The 
General  Assembly,  while  they  unqualifiedly  acknowledge  the 
exclusive  jurisdiction  of  the  civil  courts  in  regard  to  the  civil 
rights  and  emoluments  secured  by  law  to  the  church,  and  will 
*  It  has  been  called  in  Scotland  "  the  Marnoch  crime." 


SCOTTISH   STRUGGLES.  315 

ever  give  and  inculcate  implicit  obedience  to  their  decisions 
in  such  matters,  do  resolve,  that,  as  is  declared  in  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith  of  this  National  Established  Church :  '  The 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  King  and  Head  of  the  Church,  hath 
therein  appointed  a  government  in  the  hand  of  Church  offi- 
cers, distinct  from  the  civil  magistrate ;'  and  that,  in  all  mat- 
ters touching  the  doctrine,  government  and  discipline  of  the 
church,  her  judicatories  possess  an  exclusive  jurisdiction, 
founded  on  the  Word  of  God,  'which  power  ecclesiastical 
flows  immediately  from  God  and  the  Mediator,  and  is  spirit- 
ual, not  having  a  temporal  head  on  earth,  but  only  Christ, 
the  only  spiritual  King  and  Governor  of  his  Church.'  And 
they  do  farther  resolve,  that  this  spiritual  jurisdiction,  and 
the  sole  Headship  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  on  which  it  de- 
pends, they  will  assert,  and  at  all  hazards  defend  by  the  help 
and  blessing  of  God." , 

Thus  Scotland  beheld  the  fulfilment  of  this  promise :  "  He 
shall  turn  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their  fathers,"  (Mai.  iv. 
6.) ;  and  the  church,  again  taking  her  stand  upon  that  ancient 
Rock,  once  defended  by  her  martyrs,  prepared  to  await  with 
faith  and  courage  the  shock  of  the  winds,  the  floods,  and  the 
tempest. 

This  resolution  passed  by  a  majority  of  forty-one. 

The  national  enthusiasm  in  this  serious  struggle  was  still 
increasing.  The  people,  both  in  towns  and  in  the  country, 
especially  in  the  Highlands,  were  zealous  for  the  cause  of 
independence,  but  most  of  the  nobility  were  in  favor  of  pat- 
ronage. The  Marquis  of  Breadalbane  was  then  almost  alone 
in  following  the  generous  footsteps  of  the  ancient  Earls  of 
Loudon  and  Sutherland.  Petitions  signed  by  260,000  of 
the  most  pious  of  Scotland's  sons,  demanded  the  maintenance 
of  the  constitution  of  the  church  of  their  fathers.  Few  were 
indifferent,  all  were  either  for  or  against  it,  and  the  ferment 
was  general. 

The  Moderate  party  then  displayed  a  decision  which  they 
had  never  shown  since  the  time  of  Robertson.  They  thought 


316  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

the  moment  was  now  at  hand  for  recovering  their  former 
dominion.  The  Assembly  having  in  1 840  rejected  a  bill  of 
a  distinguished  statesman,  Lord  Aberdeen,  which  in  their 
opinion  was  calculated  to  legalize  the  attempts  of  the  civil 
courts,  and  having  in  1841,  in  their  Commission,  decided 
upon  addressing  a  remonstrance  to  the  ministers  who  sup- 
ported the  suspended  clergymen  of  Strathbogie  in  their  dis- 
obedience ;  the  Moderate  party  determined  upon  taking  the 
necessary  steps  to  ascertain  from  the  government  whether 
they  themselves  should  not  be  considered  as  constituting  the 
church,  and  therefore  alone  entitled  to  the  privileges  and 
emoluments  conferred  by  the  laws. 

Thus  the  minority  proposed  to  drive  out  the  majority. 
The  Moderates  claimed  to  set  themselves  in  the  place  of  the 
Evangelicals. 

Upon  this  an  extraordinary  meeting  of  the  Commission  of 
the  General  Assembly  was  convened.  On  the  25th  August 
1841,  a  great  concourse  was  gathered  at  Edinburgh.  From 
the  mountains  of  the  north,  from  the  plains  of  the  south,  from 
the  east  and  from  the  west  of  Scotland,  they  had  come  at  no 
other  call  than  that  of  the  church's  danger.  Nothing  like  it 
had  been  seen  since  that  memorable  day  when  the  Covenant 
was  signed  in  the  Grayfriars'  church-yard.  The  Commission 
resolved  upon  maintaining  inviolate  the  independence  of  the 
church,  or  of  perishing  in  its  defence ;  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  same  day,  one  of  the  most  spacious  buildings  of  Edin- 
burgh, the  West  Church,  was  filled  with  an  immense  crowd. 
Twelve  hundred  ministers  and  elders  were  in  the  nave,  and 
the  double  galleries  of  the  edifice  were  filled  with  a  multi- 
tude of  Christian  men  and  women,  determined  upon  follow- 
ing the  Lord  wheresoever  He  should  call  them.  A  venera- 
ble, grave,  and  wise  minister,  of  heartfelt  piety,  one  of  whom 
many  said,  "  We  do  not  well  understand  the  question,  but 
wherever  that  disciple  of  Jesus  goes  we  will  follow," — Dr. 
Gordon, — presided  at  this  meeting.  Dr.  Candlish  gave  way 
to  the  energy  of  his  feelings,  and  drew  along  with  him  the 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  317 

whole  auditory,  trembling  and  glowing  at  his  burning  words. 
A  deputation  from  the  Irish  Presbyterians  announced  to  their 
brethren  of  Scotland  that  the  sons  of  Erin  were  ready  to  aid 
them  with  their  sympathy  and  their  prayers  ;  and  the  Scotch- 
men settled  in  the  fertile  fields  of  England  declared  that  the 
church  of  their  fathers  would  find  them  faithful  in  the  hour 
of  peril.  When  this  solemn  meeting  was  concluded,  three 
thousand  Christians  rose  with  a  spontaneous  impulse,  and 
sang  with  one  heart,  "  Our  feet  shall  stand  in  thy  gates,  0 
Jerusalem  !"  and  the  rest  of  the  122d  Psalm. 

The  adverse  party  then  redoubled  their  efforts,  and  set 
such  new  springs  in  motion  as  are  generally  found  effectual. 
The  government  endeavored  by  diplomatic  negotiations  to 
induce  the  majority  of  the  Assembly  to  coincide  with  their 
views ;  and  the  political  press  asserted  that  the  ministry 
were  ready  to  give  up  the  independence  of  the  church  pro- 
vided they  might  secure  their  emoluments.  These  reports 
filled  Scotland  with  alarm.  "  Can  it  be  possible,"  it  was 
said,  "that  the  servants  of  the  Word  of  God  should  be 
caught  in  the  nets  of  a  crafty  policy  ?"  There  were,  it  is 
true,  some  few  who  were  caught,  and  in  them  they  remained. 
But  the  church  soon  learned  that  she  might  expect  totally 
different  resolutions  from  those  faithful  and  courageous  min- 
isters whose  names  will  stand  in  the  annals  of  Christianity 
as  a  crown  of  glory  for  Scotland. 

The  General  Assembly  met  in  1842,  and  Dr.  Welsh  was 
Moderator.  One  step  yet  remained  to  be  taken — to  memo- 
rialize the  Queen  ;  and  upon  this  they  decided. 

After  a  motion  respecting  patronage,  proposed  by  Dr. 
Cunningham,  Mr.  Dunlop,  an  elder  of  the  church,  and  an 
eminent  lawyer,  presented  a  "  declaration  against  the  uncon- 
stitutional encroachments  of  the  civil  courts,"  signed  by  one 
hundred  and  fifty  members  of  the  Assembly.  This  remark- 
able document  having  been  read  amid  deep  silence,  Dr.  Chal- 
mers, who  had  risen  in  1833,  in  the  first  Assembly  which 
had  claimed  the  rights  of  the  church,  arose  once  more  in  that 


318  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

last  meeting  which  was  to  terminate  the  existence  of  Evan- 
gelical predominance  in  the  National  Church  of  Scotland, 
and  moved  that  the  declaration  be  adopted.  "  It  is  no  ques- 
tion," said  he,  with  that  noble  and  powerful  eloquence  which 
characterizes  him, — "  it  is  no  mere  question  of  individual  or 
party  wrangling,  but  a  great  constitutional  question  concern- 
ing the  respective  jurisdictions  of  two  distinct  and  yet  co-ordi- 
nate powers,  each  of  them  independent  and  supreme  within 
its  own  sphere.  With  what  formidable  evils  are  we  not  in- 
evitably threatened,  if  the  Parliament  allows  the  civil  courts 
to  pergist  in  their  encroachments  on  the  constitutional  juris- 
dictions of  the  church,  and  to  grant  orders  in  spiritual  mat- 
ters which  conscience  is  compelled  to  reject,  and  to  employ 
the  argument  of  physical  force,  as  if  violence  was  to  be  set 
up  in  the  place  of  right.  Such  arguments  have  been  already 
employed,"  continued  the  orator,  "  but  they  may  be  taken 
up  by  men  who  have  the  strength  of  millions  of  the  ungodly 
and  sinners  upon  their  side,  and  poured  forth  in  some  wide- 
spread war  of  turbulence  and  disorder  over  the  face  of  our 
commonwealth." 

Chalmers  well  knew,  that  when  once  religious  liberty  is 
trampled  under  foot,  all  other  liberties  are  endangered.  The 
motion  was  adopted  by  a  majority  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-one,  and  the  Moderator  delivered  to  the  Lord  High 
Commissioner,  the  respected  Marquis  of  Bute,  the  Church's 
Claim  of  Rights,  requesting  him  to  present  it  to  her  Maj- 
esty. A  separate  address  was  also  presented  to  Queen  Vic- 
toria, praying  her  to  take  measures  towards  the  abolition  of 
Patronage. 

The  Assembly  of  1842  thus  commenced  in  Scotland  the 
Third  Reformation. 

I  will  here  mention  a  circumstance  of  trifling  importance, 
but  which  may  be  considered  as  an  example  of  that  decision 
of  character  to  be  found  in  Scotland,  which  may,  perhaps, 
be  sought  for  in  vain  elsewhere.  A  minister,  deposed  by 
the  Assembly,  being  in  possession  of  the  parish  church  of 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  319 

X 

Rhynie,  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  June,  the  whole 
people  of  the  place  assembled  before  daybreak,  at  a  spot 
Avhich  a  generous  Christian  had  given  them,  whereon  to 
build  another  church.  The  opposite  party  had  threatened 
them  with  an  interdict,  which,  if  produced  the  next  day,  or 
even  that  evening,  might  have  prevented  them  from  building 
their  church.  The  permission  of  the  General  Assembly  for 
the  erection  of  the  chapel  had  just  arrived.  All  immediately 
set  to  work.  The  masons,  builders,  and  carpenters  of  Sol- 
omon and  Hiram  (1  Kings,  v.)  never  displayed  such  activity 
on  Mount  Zion,  as  that  little  band  of  poor  and  obscure  Scot- 
tish Christians  in  erecting  their  humble  chapel.  They  had 
already  prepared  timber,  and  quarried  stone  from  the  neigh- 
boring mountains.  Laborers,  masons,  and  carpenters, 
worked  with  willing  hands ;  and,  thanks  to  their  vigorous 
efforts,  before  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  a  spacious  and 
commodious  edifice  was  ready  to  receive  the  worshippers  of 
the  living  God.  A  church  was  built  in  one  day  ! 

This  was  a  symbol.  When  God's  own  time  should  arrive, 
the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  raised  by  the  faith  of  a  whole 
people,  would  also  be  set  up  in  a  day.  "  Behold  the  day  ; 
behold  it  is  come."  (Ezek.  vii.  10.) 

All,  indeed,  now  tended  towards  this.  On  the  first  week 
of  July,  in  the  mountains,  vallevs.  villages,  and  towns  of 

•  •/       '  O        * 

Scotland,  crowded  meetings  were  held  in  different  places. 
Clear  and  eloquent  addresses  enlightened  the  public  mind 
upon  the  principles  which  the  General  Assembly  had  re- 
cently professed ;  men's  consciences  were  convinced,  and 
enthusiastic  applause  manifested  the  adherence  of  the  peo- 
ple. There  was  a  great  excitement  in  Scotland  ;  an  excite- 
ment of  a  legitimate  character,  which,  far  from  infringing 
the  laws,  claimed,  as  a  right,  the  execution  of  the  most 
solemn  treaties. 


320  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 


VI. 


STRUGGLES    OF   THE    CHURCH    AND   STATE. 

AN  important  event  now  responded  mournfully  to  this 
national  movement,  and  hurried  the  church  towards  her 
complete  enfranchisement.  The  House  of  Lords  was  to  pro- 
nounce a  final  decision  between  the  civil  courts  and  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  The  anxious  looks  of  Scotland  were  fixed 
upon  the  proceedings  of  this  tribunal.  There  was  little  hope. 
On  the  one  hand,  how  was  it  to  be  expected  that  a  court, 
the  majority  of  which  was  composed  of  English  and  Irish 
lords,  should  comprehend  a  Scottish  question,  which  seemed 
difficult  even  to  many  of  the  Scotch  themselves  ?  Yet,  on 
the  other  hand,  might  it  not  be  hoped  that  these  powerful 
lords,  whose  judgments  ought  to  be  formed  on  so  elevated  a 
standard,  would  rise  above  those  clouds  which  obscure  the 
sight  of  men  who  look  from  below  ?  Would  not  this  high 
court  remember  the  illegal  act  passed  by  its  predecessors  in 
1712,  and  endeavor  to  make  amends  for  it? 

It  was  not  the  case  of  Marnoch  and  Strathbogie  but  that 
of  Auchterarder  and  Mr.  Young,  which  was  then  brought 
before  the  House  of  Lords.  The  Presbytery,  the  majority 
of  which  was  composed  of  evangelical  ministers  and  elders, 
had  refused  to  ordain  Mr.  Young,  who  was  objected  to  by 
almost  all  the  communicants  of  the  parish  ;  but  that  church 
court  had,  at  the  same  time,  awarded  the  fruits  of  the  bene- 
fice to  the  lord  patron.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Young  brought 
an  action  for  damages  against  the  ministers  and  elders  of  the 
Presbytery,  for  having  refused  him,  notwithstanding  the  de- 
cision of  the  civil  courts,  that  ordination  of  which  the  Word 
of  God  says,  "Lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man."  (1  Tim. 
v.  22.) 

The  House  of  Lords,  and  especially  the  Lord  Chancellor 
and  Lord  Brougham,  whose  opinions  were  changed  in  regard 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  321 

to  the  Veto,  decided,  that  for  refusing  to  perform  an  act 
which  should  be  the  most  unrestrained  of  any  that  can  exist, 
— the  consecration  of  a  minister  to  the  service  of  God, — the 
Presbytery  might  be  liable  to  an  action  for  damages. 

On  hearing  this  strange  decision,  the  friends  of  the  in- 
dependence of  the  church  were  filled  with  consternation. 
"  What,"  said  they,  "  an  assembly  of  ministers  and  elders 
may  be  condemned  for  refusing  to  perform  a  purely  spiritual 
act,  and  may  be  fined  for  obeying  the  dictates  of  their  con- 
science !  All  ecclesiastical  government  and  discipline  are 
thus  at  once  laid  prostrate.  Nay,  there  can  be  no  longer 
any  ecclesiastical  courts ;  for  the  very  essence  of  a  court  is 
its  liberty  to  decide  according  to  its  own  convictions." 

From  that  moment  it  became  evident  to  every  sound  judg- 
ment that  the  Church  of  Scotland  must  break  off  all  connec- 
tion with  the  state.  "  Nothing  now  remains  for  us,"  said 
they,  "  but  to  protest  against  these  unconstitutional  invasions, 
and  to  retire,  leaving  to  Him,  who  is  the  Prince  of  the  kings 
of  the  earth,  to  vindicate  His  cause  in  His  own  time." 

They  must  now  be  prepared  for  the  event.  The  Lord  was 
coming  in  his  mighty  power.  His  angel  was  to  visit  every 
manse,  and  every  house  in  Scotland,  so  that  there  should  be 
a  great  cry  throughout  the  land.  It  was  not  in  the  still 
small  voice  that  the  Lord  was  to  be  heard,  but  in  a  great 
and  strong  wind  that  rent  the  mountains  (1  Kings,  xix.  11.) 
Scotland  was  to  prepare  to  meet  her  God.  (Amos,  iv.  12.) 

In  the  month  of  October,  thirty-two  of  the  oldest  minis- 
ters of  this  noble  church,  sent  an  address  to  those  ministers 
who  took  the  deepest  interest  in  her  liberties,  inviting  them 
to  meet  at  Edinburgh  on  the  17th  November.  A  spirit  of 
prayer  and  supplication  was  diffused  throughout  Scotland. 
Never,  perhaps,  had  there  been  in  the  country  of  John  Welsh, 
that  man  of  prayer,  such  fervent  and  general  devotion  as 
during  the  week  preceding  the  Convocation.  "  Not  only," 
it  was  said,  "  are  the  liberties  of  the  church  at  stake,  but  the 
very  existence  of  evangelical  religion."  Therefore,  when 

14* 


322  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

these  ministers  had  left  their  parishes,  their  flocks  still  con- 
tinued their  meetings  for  prayer.  Even  in  the  country  vil- 
lages, venerable  patriarchs  were  to  be  found,  who  remember- 
ing that  Christ  has  made  his  people  a  nation  of  priests,  called 
publicly  on  the  name  of  the  Lord.  "  The  whole  multitude 
of  the  people  were  praying;"  (Luke,  i.  12.)  crying  "with  a 
loud  and  bitter  cry."  (Est.  iv.  1.) 

The  Convocation  met  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  of 
December,  in  St.  George's  Church,  where  Dr.  Chalmers 
preached  on  these  impressive  words :  "  Unto  the  upright, 
there  ariseth  light  in  darkness."  (Psalm,  cxii.  4.)  On  the 
evening  of  the  same  day,  the  deliberations,  also  presided 
over  by  Chalmers,  commenced  in  another  church.  About 
five  hundred  ministers  were  present.  All  agreed  in  acknowl- 
edging, that  the  decisions  of  the  civil  courts  were  subver- 
sive of  the  constitution  of  the  church,  and  would  shortly  lead 
to  its  destruction,  unless  a  remedy  could  be  found  to  prevent 
so  great  an  evil. 

But  what  was  the  remedy  to  be?  In  this,  opinions  were 
divided. 

Some,  considering  that  the  British  constitution  had  guar- 
anteed the  independence  of  the  church,  were  desirous  that 
this  constitution  should  be  defended,  and  that  the  church 
should  retain  her  position  as  an  establishment,  until  the  state 
should  be  compelled  to  change  its  policy  by  the  just  indig- 
nation of  the  people. 

But  the  leaders  of  the  movement — Chalmers,  Candlish, 
and  Cunningham — showed  that  this  course  would  confound 
civil  and  spiritual  duties ;  that  the  church  was  not  answer- 
able for  the  integrity  of  the  civil  constitution,  and,  conse- 
quently, could  not  take  upon  herself  to  defend  it ;  and  that 
by  doing  so,  she  would  infallibly  produce  collisions,  tumults, 
and,  perhaps,  even  revolutions. 

Renouncing,  therefore  those  political  means  of  resistance, 
which  had  signalized  the  Scotland  of  former  ages,  these 
Christian  men  demanded  that  the  church  should  decide  upon 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  323 

maintaining  her  own  independence ;  and,  if  necessary  for 
that  purpose,  should  relinquish  her  union  with  the  state, 
and  all  the  temporal  advantages  the  pastors  received  from 
government.  The.  Convocation,  which  opened  on  the  17th 
November,  was  not  concluded  till  the  24th.  Several  minis- 
ters had  been  obliged  to  return  to  their  homes  before  the 
end  of  the  meetings,  nevertheless  three  hundred  and  fifty 
pastors  signed  the  resolutions. 

These  seven  days  of  the  Convocation  were  a  season  of 
great  spiritual  refreshing.  A  remarkable  unity,  a  continued 
spirit  of  faith  and  of  prayer,  characterized  this  Assembly. 
All  felt  that  their  heavenly  King,  according  to  His  promise, 
was  truly  in  the  midst  of  them. 

Besides  the  Resolutions,  the  Convocation  agreed  upon  "A 
Memorial  to  the  Government,"  and  "  An  Address  to  the 
People  of  Scotland."  This  address  was  soon  sent  from 
Edinburgh  into  every  parish,  and  never  perhaps  has  a  more 
solemn  appeal  been  laid  before  a  nation.  The  former 
struggles  which  we  have  recounted  ;  with  the  testimonies 
of  Knox,  Melvill,  Welsh,  Erskine,  and  of  so  many  more  con- 
fessors, were  eloquently  recalled. 

"  The  Church  of  Scotland,"  said  these  ministers,  "  has 
been  honored  to  contend  not  more  for  the  doctrine  of  the 
Redeemer's  cross  than  for  the  honor  of  His  Crown ;  and  this 
constitutes  her  peculiar  distinction  amongst  the  churches 
of  the  Reformation."  [These  words  contain  an  important 
truth.] 

"  What  are  the  passages  in  your  national  history,"  they 
afterwards  continue,  "  which  you  read  with  the  most  thrill- 
ing interest,  and  which  you  would  wish  to  be  engraven  on 
the  minds  of  your  children  ?  What  are  the  scenes  in  your 
land  of  mountain  and  flood,  on  which  you  gaze  with  feel- 
ings too  deep  for  utterance  ?  Are  they  not  the  passages 
which  record  the  faithful  contendings  of  your  forefathers  for 
a  pure  Gospel  and  a  free  church  ? — are  they  not  the  scenes 
where  many  of  them  lie  buried  as  martyrs  in  the  cause  of 


324  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

civil  and  religious  freedom  ?  They  won  by  their  blood  the 
privileges  which  you  are  called  to  maintain  by  your  efforts 
and  prayers  ;  and  would  you  willingly  have  it  said  by  pos- 
terity, that  you  relinquished  without  a  struggle  the  birth- 
right of  your  children, — or,  that  in  the  calm  and  sunshine 
of  outward  prosperity,  you  suffered  that  noble  vessel  to  go 
down  which  was  reared  in  the  tempest  and  rocked  by  the 
hurricane  ?" 

Thus  did  the  ministers  of  the  Convocation  address  their 
people.  What  Scottish  heart  coiild  remain  unmoved  ? 

Yet,  though  the  House  of  Lords  had  decided,  the  voice 
of  the  government  still  remained  to  be  heard.  Would  it 
not  weigh  more  justly  the  great  constitutional  rights  on 
which  they  were  to  decide  ? 

It  happened  otherwise.  The  government,  after  receiving 
the  memorial  of  the  last  Commission,  returned  an  answer 
which  annihilated  all  the  hopes  of  the  church :  an  answer, 
polite  most  certainly  though  imprudent,  in  which,  combining 
what  the  Commission  had  purposely  kept  separate,  "The 
Claim  of  Rights,"  regarding  the  spiritual  independence  of 
the  church  as  guaranteed  by  the  constitution,  and  the  "  Ad- 
dress "  concerning  Patronage,  the  British  minister  declared 
that  he  was  obliged  to  reject  both  petitions,  in  order  to  de- 
fend the  privileges  of  the  patrons.  At  the  same  time,  he 
accused  the  church  of  attacking  the  rights  of  the  state, 
whereas  the  General  Assembly  was  justly  conscious  of  hav- 
ing triumphantly  refuted  so  unfounded  an  accusation. 

Perhaps,  however,  this  misunderstanding  of  the  govern- 
ment might  have  been  expected.  The  English  ministry,  ac- 
customed to  the  forms  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  in  which 
the  flocks  have  no  voice,  influenced  by  the  speeches  of  the 
Scottish  nobles  and  patrons,  who  were  both  judges  and  par- 
ties in  the  cause,  and  finding  as  much  difficulty  in  putting 
themselves  in  the  place  of  those  beyond  the  Tweed,  as  of 
those  beyond  St.  George's  Channel,  could  scarcely  avoid 
mistakes.  Besides  this,  the  crown,  ever  since  the  act  of 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  325 

Queen  Anne,  had  set  far  too  high  a  value  upon  the  right  of 
nominating  the  ministers  of  more  than  three  hundred  par- 
ishes, and  could  not  understand,  that  to  secure  the  attach- 
ment of  a  people  like  the  Scotch,  it  would  be  much  the 
better  way  to  allow  them  a  share  in  church  matters,  and  thus 
encourage  the  development  of  Christianity,  than  by  reserv- 
ing the  right  of  appointing  to  a  benefice  some  insignificant 
person  recommended  by  a  noble  lord. 

The  adversaries  of  the  Scottish  movement  likewise  repre- 
sented it  in  London  as  an  affair  of  little  importance,  for  the 
sake  of  which  it  was  not  worth  while  to  sacrifice  advantages 
they  valued  so  highly.  All  this  may  explain  how  such  a 
distinguished  statesman  as  Sir  James  Graham  could  commit 
so  great  a  fault.  It  is  the  greatest  with  which  the  Peel 
ministry  can  be  reproached ;  but  it  is,  at  the  same  time,  one 
of  those  of  which  the  victim  may  say :  "  Ye  thought  evil 
against  me  ;  but  God  meant  it  unto  good."  (Gen.  1.  20.) 

According  to  the  English  ministry,  (and  this  is  even  yet 
the  judgment  of  many  good  men  in  England,)  the  church 
having  infringed  the  law  by  the  Veto  Act,  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  civil  courts  that  ensued,  were  simply  a  neces- 
sary and  a  natural  re-action  against  the  usurpations  of  the 
church.  Here,  in  fact,  lay  the  difficulty  of  the  affair ;  and 
with  some  little  intelligence,  which  certainly  was  not  want- 
ing, and  a  little  patience,  it  might  have  been  easily  unrav- 
elled. But  it  appears  that  instead  of  taking  the  trouble  to 
until  the  knot,  the  government  preferred  having  recourse  to 
the  sword  of  Alexander.  Even  supposing  the  veto  to  be  an 
act  opposed  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
which  we  do  not  think  it  was,  the  English  government  might 
have  declined  to  recognize  it,  or  might  have  demanded  some 
modification :  the  church  had  declared  her  willingness  to  do 
so,  and  had  stated  this  in  her  "  Address  to  the  people  of 
Scotland."  The  government  might  even  have  required  the 
withdrawal  of  the  act ;  many  of  the  most  eminent  men  of 
the  church  would  have  agreed  to  do  so  in  a  spirit  of  concil- 


326  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

iation,  at  the  same  time  without  sacrificing  the  principle 
itself.  Yet  while  acting  in  this  manner  towards  the  church, 
the  government  should  at  the  same  time  have  declared  that 
the  Court  of  Session,  first  by  inducing  the  ministers  to  con- 
tinue their  functions,  after  having  been  suspended  or  de- 
prived by  the  highest  authority  of  the  church  ;  and  secondly, 
by  forbidding  an  ecclesiastical  court,  under  pain  of  civil  pun- 
ishments, to  lay  hands  on  certain  probationers, — had  done 
what  no  Scottish  tribunal  had  ever  been  or  could  ever  be  al- 
lowed to  do.  By  thus  tolerating  such  usurpations  in  the 
civil  courts,  and  throwing  all  the  blame  on  the  church,  and 
none  on  the  Court  of  Session,  the  government  exhibited  a 
partiality  much  to  be  regretted,  and  really  made  use  of  two 
weights  and  two  measures ;  giving  Scotland  reason  to  fear, 
that  they  had  determined  upon  the  destruction  of  those 
spiritual  rights  for  which  their  fathers  had  striven  for  so 
many  centuries  ;  and  that  the  final  aim  of  the  cabinet  of  St. 
James's  was  to  overthrow  the  independence  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  and  bury  it  forever  in  the  crypts  of  the  Home 
Office. 

The  Commission  of  the  General  Assembly  again  met,  and 
at  the  same  time  decided  upon  an  answer  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  a  petition  to  the  House  of  Commons,  the  only 
one  of  the  three  powers  which  had  not  yet  declared  itself. 
In  a  most  eloquent  speech,  Chalmers  asserted  that  the  evan- 
gelical body  must  inevitably  be  driven  from  the  establish- 
ment, and  should  consequently  prepare  without  delay  for 
this  serious  event.  "  Come  when  it  may,"  said  he,  "  Scot- 
land must  not  be  taken  by  surprise,  and  laid  helpless  and 
hopeless  at  the  feet  of  her  enemies.  Scotland  must  become 
an  experimental  garden,  covered  witli  churches  and  with 
schools." 

This  appeal  of  the  venerable  patriarch  of  Scotland  was 
•well  responded  to.  Numerous  meetings  of  elders,  in  concert 
with  the  evangelical  ministers,  founded  a  provisional  com- 
mittee to  provide  for  the  approaching  crisis.  Every  thing 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  327 

was  prepared  for  the  support  of  the  pastors,  and  the  erection 
of  churches ;  and  deputations  were  sent  throughout  the 
country,  commissioned  to  explain  to  the  people  the  great 
principles,  for  the  defence  of  which  the  bark  of  the  church 
was  about  to  launch  into  a  dangerous  sea,  and  to  sustain 
the  terrible  collision  of  the  vessel  of  the  state.  The  response 
of  the  people  was  instantaneous,  and  the  deputations  were 
everywhere  enthusiastically  welcomed.  "  The  martyr  spirit 
is  yet  alive  in  Scotland,"  said  the  deputies  on  their  return ; 
"  Scotland's  heart  is  still  as  sound  as  ever." 

Associations,  formed  all  over  the  kingdom,  entered  into 
correspondence  with  the  Provisional  Committee  at  Edin- 
burgh. This  committee  issued  weekly  communications, 
copies  of  which  were  sent  to  the  Provisional  Associations, 
to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  This 
mighty  activity  is  one  of  the  finest  features  of  the  Scottish 
character. 

.  The  House  of  Commons  had  not  yet  decided,  and  the 
cause  of  Scottish  liberty  was  to  find  within  its  walls  several 
zealous  and  eloquent  defenders.  The  son  of  one  of  the 
Scottish  peers,  the  Honorable  Fox  Maule,  now  Secretary- 
at-War,  having  presented  to  the  House  the  petition  of  the 
Commission,  clearly  stated  the  question  on  the  7th  of 
March,  and  the  motion  was  eloquently  defended  by  Mr. 
Rutherford,  Mr.  P.  M.  Stuart,  and  Mr.  Campbell,  of  Monzie. 
An  English  member,  who  has  now  succeeded  Sir  James 
Graham  in  the  Home  Department,  Sir  George  Grey,  sup- 
ported it  with  generosity  and  calmness.  But  it  was  opposed 
by  Sir  James  Graham  and  Sir  Robert  Peel.  Of  the  Scottish 
members  of  the  House,  there  were  twenty-five  for  the  mo- 
tion, and  only  twelve  against  it.  Scotland  was  thus  in  favor 
of  the  liberties  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  but  the  English 
and  Irish  formed  a  majority,  who  voted  in  a  contrary  direc- 
tion. The  motion  was  rejected,  by  211  against  76. 

So  voted  the  House  of  Commons.  All  was  now  over. 
The  three  powers  had  decided.  All  human  tribunals  had 


328  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

now  closed  their  ears  against  the  complaint  of  the  Church. 
Every  thing  seemed  to  say  to  her,  like  the  prophet,  "  Set  thy 
house  in  order,  for  thou  shalt  die."  (Isaiah,  xxxviii.)  But 
there  remained  a  refuge  for  the  people  of  God  within  her. 
There  remained  for  them  an  appeal  to  the  heavenly  tribunal, 
— to  the  judgment-seat  of  Him  who  "  killeth  and  maketh 
alive ;  who  bringeth  down  to  the  grave  and  bringeth  up." 
(1  Samuel,  ii.  6.) 

From  this  time  all  hearts  were  raised  to  heaven,  and  all 
eyes  were  turned  to  the  General  Assembly,  which  was  to 
meet  in  the  month  of  May ;  and  the  government  party  made 
every  effort,  in  order  that  members,  favorable  to  the  decis- 
ions of  the  civil  courts,  should  form  a  majority  in  it.  The 
motive  of  such  endeavors  is  evident.  If  the  evangelical 
party  should  be  the  stronger  in  the  Assembly,  the  church 
would  then,  by  the  decision  of  her  highest  authority,  for- 
mally renounce  her  union  with  the  state,  and  the  Moderates 
would  be  obliged  to  create  a  new  church,  which  they  wished 
by  all  means  to  avoid.  The  party  opposed  to  ecclesiastical 
independence  obtained  their  desired  object,  not,  however,  it 
would  appear,  without  some  illegal  encroachments.  There 
were  also  a  few  ministers  who,  when  the  time  of  trial  came, 
were  offended.  When  the  trumpet  called  to  battle,  the 
courage  of  several  cooled,  and  their  hearts  turned  aside  from 
the  conflict. 

VII. 

THE   DISRUPTION. 

A  GREAT  dilemma  was  now  set  before  the  ministers  and 
members  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  "  Should  the  church 
sink  at  once  into  a  mere  secular  institution,  the  creature  and 
servant  of  the  state ;  or  should  she  retain  her  God-given 
principles  in  all  their  holy  and  free  integrity,  and  resign  that 
position  and  those  emoluments  which  could  no  longer  be  re- 
tained without  dishonor  ?"  It  was  thought  by  many  worldly 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  329 

people,  that  most  of  those  who  had  spoken  so  loudly  for  the 
independence  of  the  church,  would  fail  at  the  last  moment. 
The  hour  was  approaching  when  the  question  would  be  re- 
solved. 

On  Monday,  the  15th  of  May,  only  three  days  before  the 
opening  of  the  Assembly,  a  great  number  of  ministers  and 
elders  repaired  to  Edinburgh,  to  consult  upon  their  final 
measures.  Lord  Aberdeen  had  endeavored  to  avert  the 
coming  storm,  by  proposals,  against  which  Dr.  Gordon,  and 
Mr.  Campbell,  of  Monzie,  a  member  of  parliament,  declared 
themselves  in  the  preparatory  meeting,  with  much  serious- 
ness and  energy.  It  was  finally  settled,  that  as  soon  as  the 
General  Assembly  should  meet,  the  evangelical  body  should 
protest,  and  then  retire  to  form  themselves  into  a  distinct 
Assembly.  Mr.  Dunlop  was  intrusted  with  the  drawing  up 
of  the  protest.  Thus  these  evangelical  Christians  of  Scot- 
land prepared  to  do  what  had  been  done  three  hundred  and 
fourteen  years  before,  by  their  illustrious  predecessors  in  the 
famous  diet  of  Spire.  New  Protestants  were  to  show  them- 
selves in  the  church,  and  take  their  place  in  history,  though 
on  a  less  elevated  platform,  beside  the  elector  of  Saxony, 
the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  the  deputy  Sturm,  and  the  prince 
of  Anhalt.  "  The  thing  that  hath  been,  it  is  that  which 
shall  be  ;  and  that  which  is  done,  is  that  which  shall  be 
done  :  and  there  is  no  new  thing  under  the  sun."  (Eccl.  i.  9.) 

The  18th  of  May  arrived.  A  bright  sun  was  shining  in 
the  generally  cloudy  sky  of  Scotland,  and  announced  a  love- 
ly day  of  spring.  The  great  and  the  noble,  magistrates  and 
ministers,  elders  and  humble  Christians,  men  and  women — 
drawn  together,  some  by  fervent  love  for  the  church  of  their 
fathers,  and  others  by  mere  curiosity, — thronged  in  animated 
crowds  the  streets  of  the  ancient  capital.  Holyrood,  where 
all  the  year  a  dreary  silence  and  a  majestic  void  prevail,  opened 
its  gates,  its  courts,  its  anti-chambers,  and  its  royal  saloons. 
At  last  the  Lord  High  Commissioner  of  her  Majesty  came 
forth  with  great  pomp,  and  advanced  slowly  at  the  head  of  a 


330  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

long  procession  to  the  cathedral  of  St.  Giles'.  There  Dr. 
Welsh,  the  Moderator  of  the  preceding  Assembly,  delivered 
an  eloquent  discourse  on  that  text  so  full  of  meaning,  "  Let 
every  one  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind."  (Rom.  xiv.  5.) 

The  service  over,  the  Lord  High  Commissioner  and  all  his 
suite  again  entered  the  royal  carriages,  and  all  proceeded  to- 
wards St.  Andrew's  Church,  where  the  General  Assembly 
was  to  sit. 

The  grandest  spectacle  that  ever  Scotland  beheld  was  now 
preparing.  The  church  was  to  take  leave  of  the  state.  The 
two  societies  were  to  give  each  other  the  bill  of  divorcement. 
The  multitude,  everywhere  eager  after  excitement,  but  which 
then  in  Edinburgh  was  in  a  great  measure  agitated  by  the 
noblest  feelings,  crowded  and  jostled  each  other  in  the  streets 
between  the  two  churches  of  St.  Giles'  and  St.  Andrew's. 
A  considerable  body  of  policemen  could  with  difficulty  open 
a  passage  through  the  crowd  for  the  Queen's  representative. 
At  length  the  brilliant  possession  passed  along,  and  then 
those  sons  of  Scotland,  who  had  looked  with  almost  an  indif- 
ferent eye  upon  this  splendor,  were  thrilled  on  beholding  the 
humble  representatives  of  the  oppressed  church,  advancing 
on  foot,  anxious,  yet  grave  and  determined,  preparing  to  bear 
testimony  before  the  great  ones  of  the  nation,  and  as  it  were, 
in  the  presence  of  the  whole  Church  of  Christ.  This  frail 
bark,  which  contained  a  few  poor  but  faithful  disciples,  but 
where  Christ  "  was  in  the  hinder  part  of  the  ship,  asleep  on 
a  pillow,"  (Mark,  iv.  38.)  moved  onward  through  the  multi- 
tude, and  the  agitated  waves  having  opened  for  its  passage, 
immediately  closed  behind  it. 

From  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  the  galleries  of  St. 
Andrew's  Church  were  filled  with  a  crowd  of  spectators,  who 
had  passed  many  weary  hours  in  expectation.  Suddenly,  a 
noise  and  bustle  without  announced  that  the  moment  was  at 
hand.  The  measured  tramp  of  slowly  advancing  steeds,  the 
sounds  of  martial  music,  the  cheers  of  the  people,  heralded 
the  arrival  of  the  Queen's  representative.  He  entered,  and 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  331 

took  his  seat  on  the  throne,  surrounded  by  his  pages  and 
officers. 

The  members  of  Assembly  entered  after  him  and  took  their 
places  in  the  body  of  the  church,  some  on  the  right  hand, 
others  on  the  left.  On  the  Evangelical  side,  there  were  se- 
rious looks,  grave  faces,  and  that  awed  and  solemn  counte- 
nance which  characterizes  men  engaged  in  a  sacred  and  per- 
ilous work.  On  the  side  of  the  Moderates,  an  embarrassed 
and  foreboding  look  was  to  be  observed,  with  the  conscious- 
ness that  the  victory  now  to  be  won  would  prove,  in  reality, 
a  great  defeat  to  the  church.  The  Moderator,  David  Welsh, 
whom  God  has  now  taken  to  his  heavenly  home,  opened  the 
meeting  with  a  fervent  prayer. 

Then  a.  pause  ensued — no  one  spoke ;  no  one  stirred.  All 
was  silent  and  motionless.  Thousands  of  anxious  hearts 
were  waiting  in  expectation,  and  every  man  seemed  to  hold 
his  breath,  as  in  fear  of  losing  one  of  the  words  that  were 
now  to  be  uttered  in  this  sacred  place,  and  to  decide  the  des- 
tiny of  the  Church  of  God. 

The  Moderator  then  took  up  the  Protest  which  had  been 
prepared,  and  gravely  pronounced  the  following  words, 
amidst  the  most  profound  and  solemn  silence  : — 

"  According  to  the  usual  form  of  procedure,  this  is  the 
time  for  making  up  the  roll ;  but  in  consequence  of  certain 
proceedings  affecting  our  rights  and  privileges, — proceedings 
which  have  been  sanctioned  by  Her  Majesty's  government 
"and  by  the  legislature  of  the  country,  and  more  especially  in 
respect  that  there  has  been  an  infringement  on  the  liberties 
of  our  constitution,  so  that  we  could  not  now  constitute  this 
Court  without  a  violation  of  the  terms  of  the  union  between 
Church  and  State  in  this  land,  as  now  authoritatively  de- 
clared, I  must  protest  against  our  proceeding  further.  The 
reasons  that  have  led  me  to  this  conclusion  are  fully  set  forth 
in  the  document  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  and  which,  with 
permission  of  the  House,  I  shall  now  proceed  to  read."  He 
then  read  the  protest. 


332  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

"  We,  the  undersigned  ministers  and  elders,  chosen  as 
Commissioners  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  indicted  to  meet  this  day,  but  precluded  from  hold- 
ing the  said  Assembly  by  reason  of  the  circumstances  here- 
inafter set  forth,  in  consequence  of  which  a  Free  Assembly 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  and 
constitutions  of  the  said  Church,  cannot  at  this  time  be 
holden — 

"  Considering  that  the  legislature,  by  their  rejection  of  the 
Claim  of  Right  adopted  by  the  last  General  Assembly  of  the 
said  Church,  and  their  refusal  to  give  redress  and  protection 
against  the  jurisdiction  assumed,  and  the  coercion  of  late 
repeatedly  attempted  to  be  exercised  over  the  Courts  of  the 
Church  in  matters  spiritual  by  the  Civil  Courts,  have  rec- 
ognized and  fixed  the  conditions  of  the  Church  Establish- 
ment, as  henceforward  to  subsist  in  Scotland,  to  be  such  as 
these  have  been  pronounced  and  declared  by  the  said  Civil 
Courts  in  their  several  recent  decisions,  in  regard  to  matters 
spiritual  and  ecclesiastical,  whereby  it  has  been  held,  inter 
alia, — 

"  1st,  That  the  Courts  of  the  Church  by  law  established, 
and  members  thereof,  are  liable  to  be  coerced  by  the  Civil 
Courts  in  the  exercise  of  their  spiritual  functions,  and,  in  par- 
ticular, in  the  admission  to  the  office  of  the  holy  ministry, 
and  the  constitution  of  the  pastoral  relation,  and  that  they 
are  subject  to  be  compelled  to  intrude  ministers  on  reclaim- 
ing congregations  in  opposition  to  the  fundamental  principles 
of  the  Church,  and  their  views  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  to 
the  liberties  of  Christ's  people. 

"  2d,  That  the  said  Civil  Courts  have  power  to  interfere 
with  and  interdict  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  admin- 
istration of  ordinances  as  authorized  and  enjoined  by  the 
Church  Courts  of  the  Establishment. 

"  3d,  That  the  said  Civil  Courts  have  power  to  suspend 
spiritual  censures  pronounced  by  the  Church  Courts  of  the 
Establishment  against  ministers  and  probationers  of  the 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  333 

Church,  and  to  interdict  their  execution  as  to  spiritual  ef- 
fects, functions,  and  privileges. 

"  4th,  That  the  said  Civil  Courts  have  power  to  reduce 
and  set  aside  the  sentences  of  the  Church  Courts  of  the 
Establishment,  deposing  ministers  from  the  office  of  the 
holy  ministry,  and  depriving  probationers  of  their  license  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  with  reference  to  the  spiritual  status, 
functions,  and  privileges  of  such  ministers  and  probationers 
— restoring  them  to  the  spiritual  office  and  status  of  which 
the  church  courts  had  deprived  them. 

"  oth,  That  the  said  Civil  Courts  have  power  to  deter- 
mine on  the  right  to  sit  as  members  of  the  supreme  and 
other  judicatories  of  the  church  by  law  established,  and  to 
issue  interdicts  against  sitting  and  voting  therein,  irrespec- 
tive of  the  judgment  and  determination  of  the  said  judica- 
tories. 

"  6th,  That  the  said  Civil  Courts  have  power  to  super- 
sede the  majority  of  a  Church  Court  of  the  Establishment, 
in  regard  to  the  exercise  of  its  spiritual  functions  as  a 
Church  Court,  and  to  authorize  the  minority  to  exercise  the 
said  functions,  in  opposition  to  the  Court  itself,  and  to  the 
superior  judicatories  of  the  Establishment. 

"  7th,  That  the  said  Civil  Courts  have  power  to  stay  pro- 
cesses of  discipline  pending  before  Courts  of  the  Church  by 
law  established,  and  to  interdict  such  Courts  from  proceed- 
ing therein. 

"  8th,  That  no  pastor  of  a  congregation  can  be  admitted 
into  the  Church  Courts  of  the  Establishment,  and  allowed 
to  rule,  as  well  as  to  teach,  agreeably  to  the  institution  of 
the  office  by  the  Head  of  the  Church,  nor  to  sit  in  any  of  the 
judicatories  of  the  Church,  inferior  or  supreme — and  that  no 
additional  provision  can  be  made  for  the  exercise  of  spiritual 
discipline  among  the  members  of  the  Church,  though  not 
affecting  any  patrimonial  interests,  and  no  alteration  intro- 
duced in  the  state  of  pastoral  superintendence  and  spiritual 
discipline  in  any  parish,  without  the  sanction  of  a  Civil  Court. 


334  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

"  All  which  jurisdiction  and  power  on  the  part  of  the  said 
Civil  Courts  severally  above  specified,  whatever  proceeding 
may  have  given  occasion  to  its  exercise,  is,  in  our  opinion, 
in  itself,  inconsistent  with  Christian  liberty,  and  with  the 
authority  which  the  Head  of  the  Church  hath  conferred  on 
the  Church  alone. 

"  And  further  considering,  that  a  General  Assembly, 
composed,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  and  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Church,  in  part  of  commissioners  themselves 
admitted  without  the  sanction  of  the  Civil  Court,  or  chosen 
by  Presbyteries  composed  in  part  of  members  not  having 
that  sanction,  cannot  be  constituted  as  an  Assembly  of  the 
Establishment  without  disregarding  the  law  and  the  legal 
conditions  of  the  same  as  now  fixed  and  declared  ; 

"  And  further  considering,  that  such  commissioners  as 
aforesaid  would,  as  members  of  an  Assembly  of  the  Estab- 
lishment, be  liable  to  be  interdicted  from  exercising  their 
functions,  and  to  be  subject  to  civil  coercion  at  the  instance 
of  any  individual  having  interest  who  might  apply  to  the 
Civil  Courts  for  that  purpose ; 

"  And  considering  further,  that  civil  coercion  has  already 
been  in  divers  instances  applied  for  and  used,  whereby  cer- 
tain commissioners  returned  to  the  Assembly  this  day  ap- 
pointed to  have  been  holden,  have  been  interdicted  from 
claiming  their  seats,  and  from  sitting  and  voting  therein  ;  and 
certain  Presbyteries  have  been,  by  interdicts  directed  against 
their  members,  prevented  from  freely  choosing  commission- 
ers to  the  said  Assembly,  whereby  the  freedom  of  such  As- 
sembly, and  the  liberty  of  election  thereto,  has  been  forcibly 
obstructed  and  taken  away ; 

"  And  further  considering,  that,  in  these  circumstances,  a 
free  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  by  law  established, 
cannot  at  this  time  be  holden,  and  that  an  Assembly,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Church  can- 
not be  constituted  in  connection  with  the  State  without  vio- 
lating the  conditions  which  must  now,  since  the  rejection  by 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  335 

the  legislature  of  the  Church's  Claim  of  Right,  be  held  to  be 
the  conditions  of  the  Establishment ; 

"  And  considering  that,  while  heretofore,  as  members  of 
church  judicatories  ratified  by  law  and  recognized  by  the 
constitution  of  the  kingdom,  we  held  ourselves  entitled  and 
bound  to  exercise  and  maintain  the  jurisdiction  vested  in 
these  judicatories  with  the  sanction  of  the  constitution,  not- 
withstanding the  decrees  as  to  matters  spiritual  and  ecclesi- 
astical of  the  Civil  Courts,  because  we  could  not  see  that 
the  State  had  required  submission  thereto  as  a  condition  of 
the  Establishment,  but,  on  the  contrary,  were  satisfied  that 
the  State,  by  the  acts  of  the  Parliament  of  Scotland,  forever 
and  unalterably  secured  to  this  nation  by  the  Treaty  of  Union, 
had  repudiated  any  power  in  the  Civil  Courts  to  pronounce 
such  decrees,  we  are  now  constrained  to  acknowledge  it  to 
be  the  mind  and  will  of  the  State,  as  recently  declared,  that 
such  submission  should  and  does  form  a  condition  of  the 
Establishment,  and  of  the  possession  of  the  benefits  thereof ; 
and  that  as  we  cannot,  without  committing  what  we  believe 
to  be  sin — in  opposition  to  God's  law — in  disregard  of  the 
honor  and  authority  of  Christ's  crown,  and  in  violation  of 
our  own  solemn  vows,  comply  with  this  condition,  we  cannot 
in  conscience  continue  connected  with,  and  retain  the  bene- 
fits of  an  establishment  to  which  such  condition  is  attached. 

"  We,  therefore,  the  ministers  and  elders  foresaid,  on  this, 
the  first  occasion  since  the  rejection  by  the  legislature  of  the 
Church's  Claim  of  Right,  when  the  commissioners  chosen 
from  throughout  the  bounds  of  the  Church  to  the  General 
Assembly,  appointed  to  have  been  this  day  holden,  are  con- 
vened together,  do  protest,  that  the  conditions  foresaid,  while 
we  deem  them  contrary  to  and  subversive  of  the  settlement 
of  church  government  effected  at  the  Revolution,  and  sol- 
emnly guaranteed  by  the  Act  of  Security  and  Treaty  of 
Union,  are  also  at  variance  with  God's  Word,  in  opposition 
to  the  doctrines  and  fundamental  principles  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  inconsistent  with  the  freedom  essential  to  the 


336  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

right  constitution  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  incompatible 
with  the  government  which  He,  as  the  Head  of  the  Church, 
hath  therein  appointed  distinct  from  the  civil  magistrate. 

"  And  we  further  protest,  that  any  Assembly  constituted 
in  submission  to  the  conditions  now  declared  to  be  law,  and 
under  the  civil  coercion  which  has  been  brought  to  bear  on 

O 

the  election  of  commissioners  to  the  Assembly  this  day  ap- 
pointed to  have  been  holden,  and  on  the  commissioners 
chosen  thereto,  is  not  and  shall  not  be  deemed  a  lawful  and 
free  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  according  to  the 
original  and  fundamental  principles  thereof;  and  that  the 
Claim,  Declaration,  and  Protest  of  the  General  Assembly 
which  convened  at  Edinburgh  hi  May  1842,  as  the  act  of  a 
free  and  lawful  Assembly  of  the  said  Church,  shall  be  holden 
as  setting  forth  the  true  constitution  of  the  said  Church, 
and  that  the  said  Claim,  along  with  the  laws  of  the  Church 
now  subsisting,  shall  in  nowise  be  affected  by  whatsoever 
acts  and  proceedings  of  any  Assembly  constituted  under  the 
conditions  now  declared  to  be  the  law,  and  in  submission  to 
the  coercion  now  imposed  on  the  Establishment. 

"  And,  finally,  while  firmly  asserting  the  right  and  duty 
of  the  civil  magistrate  to  maintain  and  support  an  establish- 
ment of  religion  in  accordance  with  God's  Word,  and  reserv- 
ing to  ourselves  and  our  successors  to  strive  by  all  lawful 
means,  as  opportunity  shall  in  God's  good  providence  be 
offered,  to  secure  the  performance  of  this  duty  agreeably  to 
the  Scriptures,  and  in  implement  of  the  statutes  of  the  king- 
dom of  Scotland,  and  the  obligations  of  the  Treaty  of  Union 
as  understood  by  us  and  our  ancestors,  but  acknowledging 
that  we  do  not  hold  ourselves  at  liberty  to  retain  the  benefits 
of  the  Establishment,  while  we  cannot  comply  with  the  con- 
ditions now  to  be  deemed  thereto  attached — we  protest,  that 
in  the  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed,  it  is  and  shall 
be  lawful  for  us,  and  such  other  commissioners  chosen  to  the 
Assembly  appointed  to  have  been  this  day  holden,  as  may 
concur  with  us,  to  withdraw  to  a  separate  place  of  meeting, 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  337 

for  the  purpose  of  taking  steps  for  ourselves  and  all  who  ad- 
here to  us — maintaining  with  us  the  Confession  of  Faith  and 
standards  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  as  heretofore  under- 
stood— for  separating  in  an  orderly  way  from  the  Establish- 
ment ;  and  thereupon  adopting  such  measures  as  may  be 
competent  to  us  in  humble  dependence  on  God's  grace  and 
the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  the  advancement  of  His  glory, 
the  extension  of  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  the 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  Christ's  house,  according  to 
His  Holy  Word  ;  and  we  do  now,  for  the  purpose  foresaid, 
withdraw  accordingly,  humbly  and  solemnly  acknowledging 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  in  the  things  which  have  come  upon 
us,  because  of  our  manifold  sins,  and  the  sins  of  this  Church 
and  nation  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  with  an  assured  convic- 
tion, that  we  are  not  responsible  for  any  consequences  that 
may  follow  from  this  our  enforced  separation  from  an  Estab- 
lishment which  we  loved  and  prized — through  interference 
with  conscience,  the  dishonor  done  to  Christ's  crown,  and 
the  rejection  of  His  sole  and  supreme  authority  as  King  in 
His  Church." 

The  reading  of  the  Protest  was  listened  to  in  deep  silence. 
When  the  Moderator  had  finished  he  left  his  chair,  laid  the 
document  on  the  table  of  the  Assembly,  and  bowing  respect- 
fully to  the  throne  on  which  sat  the  representative  of  Her 
Majesty,  gravely  withdrew,  and  left  the  church.  Minister 
after  minister,  elder  after  elder, — all  that  was  most  eminent 
in  the  Church  of  Scotland  for  piety,  for  zeal,  and  for  talent, 
— now  calmly  rose  and  followed  the  Moderator,  till  all  the 
benches  occupied  by  the  Evangelical  members,  to  the  left  of 
the  throne,  were  entirely  empty.  The  Lord  High  Commis- 
sioner, whose  noble  heart  was  full  of  affection  for  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  his  attendants,  and  the  whole  of  the  Moderate 
party,  gazed  upon  the  spectacle  with  astonishment  and  fear. 
The  government  had  been  assured  that  there  were  not  thirty, 
not  even  fifteen  of  the  members  of  Assembly  who  would 
leave  the  Establishment ;  and  now,  row  was  added  to  row  ; 

15 


338  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS . 

a  hundred,  two,  three  hundred,  and  yet  more,  arose,  and  de- 
parted. The  spectators  in  the  galleries,  filled  with  the  deepest 
sympathy,  could  hardly  suppress  their  deep-drawn  sighs  and 
enthusiastic  cheers  of  admiration. 

The  Exodus  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  was  accomplishing, 
—the  march  of  her  leaders  towards  the  door  of  the  temple 
was  advancing ;  an  angel  of  God,  though  invisible,  was  mov- 
ing before  them.  They  had  been  required  to  rivet  the 
chains  forged  by  illegal  resolutions.  They  burst  those  dis- 
graceful fetters,  they  threw  them  at  the  foot  of  the  throne  ; 
and  poor,  but  free,  they  left  those  walls  wherein  their  fathers 
had  so  hardily  fought  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  which 
powerful  men  were  attmepting  to  change  into  a -house  of 
bondage. 

On  the  outside  of  the  church,  the  crowd  was  in  a  state  of 
eager  expectation.  The  excited  people  were  only  separated 
by  a  wall  from  the  important  scene  now  transacting  within, 
and  yet  could  know  nothing  of  what  was  going  on.  Many 
thought  that  at  the  last  hour  some  tardy  measure  of  justice, 
granted  by  the  government,  would  put  an  end  to  the  differ- 
ence. Others  thought,  that  at  the  decisive  moment,  the 
hearts  of  the  servants  of  the  Church  would  fail  them,  and 
that  they  would  remain,  as  it  were,  nailed  to  their  seats. 
"Are  they  coming  out?"  asked  some.  "They  will  come:" 
— "  They  will  not  come  :" — "  Not  seven  will  come  out." 
Hardly  were  these  words  spoken,  when  the  door  opened,  and 
the  fathers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  appeared  before  the 
multitude  of  their  brethren.  "  Here  they  come  !  here  they 
come  !"  was  shouted  on  all  sides.  The  work  was  done.  The 
Church  is  free.  "  Our  soul  is  escaped,  as  a  bird  out  of  the 
snare  of  the  fowler ;  the  snare  is  broken,  and  we  are  escaped." 
(Psalm  cxxiv.) 

Hands,  hats,  and  handkerchiefs,  were  waving  in  the  air. 
Not  only  in  the  street,  the  stairs,  the  doors  and  the  win- 
dows, but  even  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses  these  signs  of  en- 
thusiasm were  exhibited.  Wherever  a  foot  could  stand, 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  339 

wherever  a  hand  could  cling,  was  some  son  of  Scotland  and 
the  Church,  saluting  with  acclamations  her  noble  defenders. 
The  whole  people  were  in  a  state  of  unprecedented  excite- 
ment. A  shout,  not  loud  and  piercing, — but  a  shout  half- 
suppressed  by  deep  emotion,  a  shout  proceeding  from  the 
depths  of  the  heart,  resounded  in  the  streets  of  the  metrop- 
olis. 

The  ministers  and  elders,  forming  a  long  procession,  and 
followed  by  a  vast  multitude,  prepared  to  descend  the  hill 
to  constitute  a  new  Assembly.  But  they  were  not  alone  in 
taking  that  direction.  Deputations  from  the  Presbyterian 
churches  of  America,  Ireland,  and  England,  and  from  the 
Scottish  seceders,  had  come,  according  to  custom,  to  present 
to  the  Assembly  their  fraternal  salutations.  These  deputa- 
tions had  to  examine  which  of  the  two  Assemblies  repre- 
sented the  Church  of  Scotland.  All  of  them,  without  hesi- 
tation, turned  from  the  national  pomp  of  St.  Andrew's,  and 
followed  the  humble  footsteps  of  the  Protesting  Church. 
The  Irish  Presbyterians  themselves,  though  supported  by 
the  English  government,  were  not  held  back  by  the  fear  of 
seeing  their  Regium  Donum  imperilled.  This  is  a  witness 
from  without  which  has  never  been  retracted. 


VIII. 

THE    FREE    CHURCH. 

THE  procession  moved  onward.  It  descended  that  long 
and  spacious  street  which,  from  the  heights  of  the  New  Town, 
leads'  down  to  the  valley  wherein  flows  the  water  of  Leith. 
The  immense  concourse  that  filled  the  street  was  so  closely 
wedged  together,  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  the  ministers 
to  make  way  through  it.  There  were  neither  policemen  nor 
soldiers  to  force  a  passage ;  but  another  more  powerful,  more 
sublime  agent, — a  feeling  of  respect,  o'f  admiration  and  of 
love, — was  at  hand  to  move  these  masses.  As  if  by  an  in- 


340  HISTORICAL   RECOLLECTIONS. 

stantaneous  impulse,  the  crowd  opened  on  the  right  and  on 
the  left,  and  formed  in  the  middle  of  the  street  a  long  lane, 
down  which  four  ministers  could  walk  abreast.  And  be- 
tween these  double  rows  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Cale- 
donia, animated  with  the  strongest  emotion,  with  Welsh  at 
the  head,  the  only  one  arrayed  in  the  Geneva  gown,  the 
venerable  defenders  of  the  independence  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  walked  calmly  and  steadily  down  the  beautiful  decliv- 
ity, on  whose  summit  the  State  sat  enthroned. 

The  vast  and  plain  Hall  of  Tanfield, — the  Cannon  Mills,  in 
which,  two  years  afterwards,  I  myself  saw  the  General  As- 
sembly, had  been  prepared  for  the  Protesters.  More  than 
three  thousand  Christians  were  awaiting  them  there.  Welsh 
opened  the  meeting  with  a  solemn  prayer,  in  which  he  gave 
thanks  to  God  for  the  strength  afforded  by  His  spirit  to  His 
servants  in  the  hour  of  trial.  During  this  prayer,  sobs  were 
audible,  and  the  most  manly  faces  were  bathed  in  tears. 
When  it  ended,  the  whole  multitude  stood  up  to  sing  the 
praises  of  the  Lord ;  the  first  hymn  of  the  Free  Church  arose 
to  heaven,  and  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant  offered  it  before 
the  throne  of  God  (Rev.  viii.  3.) 

On  the  motion  of  Dr.  Welsh,  Dr.  Chalmers  was  chosen  by 
acclamation  the  first  Moderator  of  the  Free  Protesting  Church 
of  Scotland.  Chalmers,  in  his  opening  speech,  recalled  the 
principles  on  which  the  step  then  taken  had  been  founded. 
The  Assembly  received  as  members  all  the  ministers  who  had 
signed  the  Protest,  and  an  elder  from  each  parish.  Every 
thing  was  then  prepared  for  signing  the  Deed  of  Demission. 

This  act  was  read  in  the  Assembly  on  Wednesday,  the 
23d  of  May.  All  other  business  was  suspended,  that  every 
heart  might  be  solemnly  devoted  to  the  Lord.  The  roll  was 
then  called.  The  ministers  and  elders  arose  by  tens,  moved 
to  the  platform  behind  the  Moderator's  chair,  and  there,  with 
steady  hearts  and  hands,  signed  the  act  by  which,  for  the 
cause  of  Christ,  they  renounced  all  their  worldly  goods,  and 
their  position  in  society.  Many  of  them  sacrificed  all  they 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  341 

had,  even  all  their  living.  The  amount  of  the  revenue  was 
more  than  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  ;  which  these  brethren 
joyfully  relinquished  for  the  sake  of  Him  who  has  said, 
"  Every  one  that  hath  forsaken  houses,  or  brethren,  or  sisters, 
or  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or  children,  or  lands  for  my 
name's  sake,  shall  receive  an  hundred-fold,  and  shall  inherit 
everlasting  life."  (Matt.  xix.  29.)  No  one  swerved;  young 
and  old  alike  traced  with  a  determined  hand  the  few  strokes 
which  signed  away  their  all.  The  execution  of  this  act  oc- 
cupied five  hours,  and  during  that  time,  the  Assembly  re- 
mained in  silent  emotion,  watching  with  respect  the  devoted- 
ness  of  its  leaders.  Four  hundred  and  seventy-four  ministers 
resigned  their  benefices,  either  then,  or  shortly  afterwards ; 
about  two  thousand  elders  adhered  to  the  act ;  both  numbers 
united,  formed  the  majority  of  the  office-bearers  of  the 
Church.  The  majority  of  the  Church  members,  in  full  com- 
munion, was  also  ranged  on  the  side  of  liberty. 

Such  was  the  disruption  and  the  creation  of  the  Free 
Church. 

But  the  sacrifice  then  accomplished  in  the  Hall  of  Tanfield 
was  not  the  greatest.  The  ministers  had  to  return  to  the 
mountains,  to  the  plains,  even  to  the  remotest  shores  of 
Scotland,  to  bring  their  wives  and  children  from  their  homes. 
The  hour  was  at  hand  when  Jesus  was  to  say  in  every  manse  : 
"  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me."  (Matt.  xvi.  24.)  Hun- 
dreds in  Scotland  were  then  fulfilling  this  Christian  duty, 
and,  taking  the  cross  upon  their  shoulders,  were  ready  to 
exclaim,  "  Lord,  here  am  I."  How  many  scenes  were  then 
enacting  enough  to  break  the  hardest  heart ! 

In  a  certain  part  of  the  country,  two  ministers  were  con- 
versing a  short  time  before  the  disruption.  "  Do  you  think 
there  is  no  chance  of  a  settlement  ?"  said  the  minister  of  the 
place  to  his  friend.  "  We  are  as  certain  of  being  out,  as  that 
the  sun  will  rise  to-morrow,"  replied  the  other.  A  groan 
was  heard  :  it  came  from  the  very  heart  of  the  mother  of  the 


342  HISTORICAL   RECOLLECTIONS. 

family ;  they  had  had  many  trials  in  their  day ;  there  had 
been  cradles  and  coffins  in  their  home,  and  the  place  was  en- 
deared to  the  mother  by  many  associations ;  there  was  not  a 
flower,  or  a  shrub,  or  a  tree,  that  was  not  dear  to  her — some 
of  them  were  planted  by  the  hands  of  those  who  were  in 
their  graves, — and  that  poor  woman's  heart  was  like  to  burst. 
But  grace  was  mightier  than  nature,  and  when  the  day  of 
trial  arrived,  she  came  forth  as  readily  as  her  husband,  al- 
though it  was  breaking  her  very  heartstrings  to  leave  a  home 
where  she  had  expected  to  breathe  her  last,  and  to  be  laid  in 
the  church-yard,  among  the  ashes  of  her  children. 

In  another  instance,  there  was  a  venerable  mother  in  Christ, 
who  had  gone  to  the  place  in  the  days  of  her  youth,  when 
it  was  a  wilderness,  but  who  with  her  husband  had  turned 
it  into  an  Eden.  Her  husband  had  died  there.  Her  son  was 
now  the  minister.  That  venerable  widow  and  mother,  like 
Anna,  the  daughter  of  Phanuel,  had  seen  the  snows  and  sor- 
rows of  eighty  years  accumulate  upon  her  head,  and  like  an 
aged  tree  which  has  fixed  its  roots  deeply  in  the  soil,  she 
was  attached  to  this  home  of  her  youth  by  the  dearest  affec- 
tions. All  her  anxieties,  her  prayers  to  God,  were  for  two 
things  :  either  that  the  church  should  come  to  a  right  settle- 
ment with  the  state ;  or,  if  that  should  fail,  that  then  her 
son  should  do  his  duty.  The  disruption  came ;  all  was  to  be 
given  up,  and  this  venerable  Mother  in  Israel  was  the  first  to 
go  forth  ;  and  she  found  in  her  new  home,  by  the  blessing  of 
Christ,  more  health  and  happiness  than  she  had  enjoyed  for 
a  long  time  before. 

Some  time  ago,  a  minister  was  walking  by  moonlight  with 
another,  Mr.  Guthrie,  who  is  restoring  manses  to  the  serv- 
ants of  God  throughout  Scotland.  The  two  companions 
were  passing  before  the  beloved  home  which  the  former  of 
them  had  left  for  the  cause  of  truth.  No  light  shone  from 
the  house,  and  no  smoke  rose  above  the  roof.  Pointing  to 
it  in  the  moonlight,  Mr.  Guthrie  said,  "  Oh,  my  friend,  it  was 
a  noble  thing  to  leave  that  house."  "  Ah  yes,"  he  replied, 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  343 

"  it  was  a  noble  thing ;  but  for  all  that  it  was  a  bitter  thing. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  night  I  left  that  house  till  I  am  laid 
in  the  grave.  When  I  saw  my  wife  and  children  go  forth 
in  the  gloaming,  when  I  saw  them  for  the  last  time  leave  our 
own  door,  and  when  in  the  dark  I  was  left  alone,  with  none 
but  my  God  in  that  house,  and  when  I  had  to  take  water  and 
quench  the  fire  on  my  own  hearth,  and  put  out  the  candle  in 
my  own  house,  and  turn  the  key  against  myself,  and  my 
wife,  and  my  little  ones  that  night — God,  in  his  mercy,  grant 
that  such  a  night  I  may  never  see  again  ! — it  was  a  noble 
thing  to  leave  the  manse,  and  I  bless  God  for  the  grace  which 
was  given  to  me ;  but  for  all  that,  it  was  a  cruel  and  bitter 
night  to  me." 

In  another  place,  in  the  Highlands,  when  the  last  evening 
had  arrived,  a  poor  minister  placed  his  wife  and  children  in 
a  rough  cart,  and  walking  behind  them,  began  to  cross  the 
mountains.  A  heavy  snow  storm  was  then  raging  on  that 
elevated  spot.  The  mountain  was  white,  although  it  was 
summer  time,  and  the  sky  was  dark.  This  poor  family  went 
on  amidst  the  driving  snow  and  cutting  wind.  "  We  knew 
not  where  to  find  a  place  to  dwell  in,"  said  the  minister ; 
"  but  never  did  I  know  so  much  of  the  peace  of  God  as  I 
did  that  night.  Thus  are  fulfilled  the  Saviour's  precious 
promises :  '  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  I  shall  not  want.'  " 

The  ministers,  thus  obliged  to  leave  their  manses  and  their 
churches,  were  not  idle.  On  the  first  Sunday  after  the  As- 
sembly these  faithful  Servants  of  the  Word  of  God  were 
preaching  everywhere — in  halls,  in  barns,  or  in  the  fields,  to 
great  multitudes,  who  listened  with  eagerness  to  their  words. 
The  prayers  and  discourses  were  filled  with  a  renewed  spir- 
ituality. The  Comforter  Himself  taught  his  people.  Never, 
perhaps,  had  the  Gospel  been  so  powerfully  proclaimed  in 
Scotland,  to  so  many  hearers  hungering  for  the  Word  of 
Life.  From  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  nay,  even  from  day  to  day, 
the  faithful  met  together,  the  ministers  preached,  and  Jesus 
Christ  was  glorified. 


344  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

How  can  we  refuse  a  just  tribute  of  admiration  to  the 
constitution  and  government  of  Britain,  which  thus  protected 
in  their  full  extent  the  liberties  of  the  exiled  ministers,  and 
of  their  congregations  ?  Yet,  alas  !  in  many  places  the  ill- 
will  of  the  landlords  has  taken  the  place  of  the  ill-will  of 
the  government.  While  the  flag  of  modern  freedom  has 
been  hoisted  on  the  palace  of  Victoria,  the  old  and  faded 
colors  of  feudal  despotism  still  hang,  though  tattered  and 
drooping,  over  the  ancient  turrets  of  some  lordly  mansions. 
At  Canobie,  the  Free  Christians,  driven  by  the  landlord  from 
a  waste  land,  where  they  had  at  first  assembled,  removed  to 
the  high  road,  and  turned  it  into  a  church.  At  Wanlock- 
head,  the  congregation  consisting  of  two  hundred  and  seven- 
ty-four communicants,  met  in  a  wild  ravine,  amid  rugged 
mountains,  five  hundred  yards  from  the  village.  At  Toro- 
say,  in  the  island  of  Mull,  a  gravel  pit  served  for  a  temple. 
At  Duthill,  in  which  there  were  a  thousand  adherents  of  the 
Free  Church,  they  met  in  a  wood  of  Scotch  firs,  situated  in 
a  hollow.  And  not  only  at  the  first  moment,  but  up  to  this 
very  hour,  even  during  the  last  severe  and  tempestuous  win- 
ter, women,  children,  and  aged  men  of  the  above-mentioned 
churches,  and  many  others  besides,  have  had  no  other  shelter 
than  the  arch  of  heaven.  "  Pray  that  your  flight  may  not  be 
in  winter,"  said  Jesus :  yet,  one  season  after  another,  the 
same  distresses  have  afflicted  our  brethren,  and  that,  not  un- 
der the  mild  sky  of  Palestine,  but  in  the  icy  atmosphere  of 
Caledonia :  and  the  days  are  not  yet  shortened.  In  many 
places  they  preached  on  the  sands  of  the  shore,  in  the  place 
left  free  by  the  retiring  tide,  and  which  belongs  to  no  one  but 
the  ocean, — for  once,  more  kind  and  generous  than  man.  In 
another  place,  in  a  deep  gully,  where  the  cliff's  are  some 
hundred  feet  high,  a  hollow  has  been  closed  in  from  the  sea 
by  a  barrier  of  rocks,  down  a  precipice,  where  Claverhouse 
himself  would  not  have  sought  his  victims;  and  there,  a 
minister  with  his  congregation  has  raised  his  voice  to  Heaven 
during  two  years.  The  waves  of  the  Atlantic,  roaring  around 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  345 

them,  have  afforded  them  a  shelter  which  their  haughty 
landlords,  reclining  softly  in  their  London  palaces,  have 
dared  to  deny  them.  For  the  Elect's  sake,  May  the  Lord 
shorten  these  days  !  (Mark,  xiii.  20.) 

The  ministers  were  often  but  little  better  lodged  during 
the  week,  than  their  flocks  were  at  the  hour  of  worship  dur- 
ing the  Lord's  Day.  One  minister  and  his  family  were  so 
straitened  for  accommodation,  that  when  they  would  unite 
in  their  family  devotions,  they  had  not  even  room  to  kneel  in 
their  miserable  dwelling.  Some  ministers  live  in  places  as 
damp  as  cellars,  where  a  candle  will  not  burn.  One  is  ob- 
liged to  sit  all  day  with  his  great-coat  on ;  another  sees  the 
curtains  of  his  bed  shake  at  night,  like  the  sails  of  a  ship  in 
a  storm.  A  third  took  refuge  in  a  house  open  to  every  wind 
of  heaven.  On  getting  up  one  morning,  he  wondered  to 
find  it  more  comfortable  than  usual ;  and  looking  up,  he  dis- 
covered that  a  heavy  shower  of  snow  had  fallen,  and  stopped 
up  all  the  crevices  of  the  roof.  The  Lord  thus  makes  the 
snow  his  minister  to  shelter  his  servants. 

Yet  though  the  bush  was  burning  it  was  not  consumed. 
Nee  tamen  consumebatur.  While  these  things  were  in  prog- 
ress, immense  efforts  were  making  by  the  evangelical  peo- 
ple of  Scotland.  True,  it  might  be  said, "  not  many  mighty, 
not  many  noble,"  were  among  them.  (1  Cor.  i.  26.)  Farm- 
ers, artisans,  shop-keepers,  and  small  proprietors,  all  of  them 
living  by  labor,  and  obliged  to  use  great  economy — these, 
with  a  few  rich  merchants,  and  two  or  three  noblemen,  form 
the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.  Nevertheless,  churches  were 
built  throughout  the  land,  with  the  assistance  of  some  foreign 
brethren,  particularly  from  America ;  and  after  a  time,  six 
hundred  of  these  pretty  Free  Churches,  which  everywhere 
arrest  the  attention  of  a  stranger  in  Scotland,  always  pleas- 
ing, and  yet  modest  in  their  aspect,  arose  as  monuments  of  the 
freedom  and  piety  of  her  people.  During  the  first  year,  the 
contributions  paid  into  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  amounted 
to  41 8,71 9Z.  The  total  sum  gathered  during  the  first  three 

11* 


346  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

years  was  1,001,4792.  17s.,  besides  considerable  sums  col- 
lected for  local  purposes.  Never  perhaps  was  more  mightily 
fulfilled  these  words  of  the  Lord : — "  Thou  shalt  have  delight  in 
the  Almighty,  and  thou  shalt  have  plenty  of  silver"  (Job,  xxii. 
23.) ;  and  "There  is  no  end  of  thy  treasures."  (Isaiah,  ii.  7.) 

In  the  month  of  March  last,  the  number  of  congregations 
and  associations  adhering  to  the  Free  Church  amounted  to 
eight  hundred  and  twenty-three ;  that  is  a  considerable  in- 
crease, but  there  were  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  who  had 
no  minister.  Happily,  however,  the  number  of  Divinity 
students  at  the  Free  College  is  sufficient  speedily  to  supply 
these  vacancies. 

'Notwithstanding  her  own  necessities,  the  Free  Church 
does  not  confine  herself  to  Scotland.  She  sends  her  mis- 
sionaries to  distant  lands,  to  the  heathen  of  the  Ganges,  to 
the  Jews  of  Europe  and  of  Palestine,  and  ministers  to  the 
numerous  colonies  of  Britain.  Nay,  more,  one  of  her  first 
cares  has  been  to  fraternize  with  the  Evangelical  churches 
of  all  countries ;  and  we  know  with  what  generosity,  not- 
withstanding her  poverty,  and  her  own  wants,  she  has 
stretched  forth  a  helping  hand  towards  the  evangelization  of 
continental  Europe. 

Here  we  stop  giving  thanks  to  the  King  of  Sion  for  this 
work  which  His  wisdom  and  His  love  have  accomplished  in 
Scotland ;  and  praying  Him  to  grant,  that  the  Word  of  faith, 
of  life,  and  of  liberty,  which  He  has  so  abundantly  shed,  and 
which  He  has  commissioned  this  Church  to  diffuse  over  the 
world,  may  become  one  of  those  streams  which  "  issue  out 
from  under  the  threshold  of  the  House  of  the  Lord,"  and  of 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  says,  that  "all  whithersoever  the 
waters  shall  come,  shall  live."  (Ezek.  xlvii.  ] .  9.) 

One  day,  a  few  months  since,  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  a 
traveller  was  at  the  foot  of  Benmore  Assynt,  near  the  lake 
of  Assynt,  which  stretches  its  waters  for  fourteen  miles 
among  the  most  romantic  mountains.  The  traveller  was 
contemplating  the  castle  of  M'Leod,  whose  ancient  walls  rise 


SCOTTISH    STRUGGLES.  347 

close  by  the  side  of  the  lake.  " There,"  said  he,  "is  the 
place  where  the  Marquis  of  Montrose,  an  old  renegade  and 
apostate,  met  with  a  renegade's  fate  !  He  betrayed  the  cause 
of  truth,  and  was  himself  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  those 
who  executed  him  in  Edinburgh."  But  another  building  at- 
tracted his  attention  still  more ;  the  parish  church,  over- 
shadowed by  two  trees  which  grew  in  the  church-yard,  and 
were  the  only  ones  he  had  seen  in  two  or  three  days'  travel- 
ling." He  asked  some  persons  who  were  standing  by,  how 
many  people  attended  the  church  ?  The  reply  was,  "  The 
minister  attends,  and  his  wife  attends,  and  two  or  three  ser- 
vants, and  the  parochial  schoolmaster." — "  You  do  not 
mean  to  say  that  these  are  all  ?"  said  he.  "  Why,"  was  the 
answer,  "  there  is  not  a  body — not  a  body — not  a  body 
more  !"  In  fact,  the  whole  congregation  had  joined  the  Free 
Church.  The  traveller  then  went  into  the  church-yard,  but 
there  was  no  sign  of  a  road  into  the  church ;  it  was  all  over- 
grown with  grass.  On  looking  through  the  window,  he  saw 
the  seats  and  pews  all  covered  with  dust ;  nowhere  could  he 
perceive  the  marks  of  human  hands,  except  in  the  pulpit  and 
the  minister's  seat.  "  I  saw  it  with  my  own  eyes,"  said  he. 
"  All  this  congregation  had  left  the  walls  where  their  fathers 
worshipped,  rather  than  not  be  steadfast  in  their  struggles 
and  their  trials."  Then  the  traveller,  (Mr.  Guthrie,)  raising 
his  eyes  to  the  mountains  that  lifted  up  their  lofty  heads  far 
above  him,  exclaimed,  "  How  vain  is  the  expectation  of  our 
enemies :  never  will  they  succeed  in  breaking  down  the  Free 
Church !  She  will  stand  there,  as  firm  as  her  own  naked 
mountains ;  and  that  powerful  lord  who  is  master  of  this 
country,  from  the  one  sea  to  the  other,  may  as  soon  remove 
Benmore  Assynt,  as  he  will  weaken  the  attachment  of  our 
people  to  our  cause  and  to  freedom !" 

We  accept  the  omen.  It  is  not  the  flock  of  Assynt  alone 
that  stands  as  firm  as  Benmore ;  it  is  the  whole  Free  Church 
of  Scotland ;  the  whole  Assembly  and  Church  of  the  First- 
born, spread  over  the  wide  world  itself.  Benmore  may  trem- 


348  HISTORICAL    RECOLLECTIONS. 

ble ;  the  Alps  themselves  may  quake ;  and  our  own  Mont 
Blanc,  removed  by  the  Mighty  Hand  which  one  day  shall 
shake  both  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth,  may  bow  its  colossal 
head,  and  fall  into  our  lake ;  "  The  mountains  shall  depart, 
and  the  hills  be  removed ;  but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart 
from  thee ;  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  re- 
moved, saith  the  Lord,  that  hath  mercy  on  thee." 

But  if  there  are  promises  of  God,  man  also  has  his  duties. 
The  Church  of  Scotland  has  lately  given  proofs  of  mighty 
energy.  Fidelity  to  her  Divine  Chief,  fidelity  to  her  forefa- 
thers and  to  her  martyrs,  unshaken  faith,  Christian  life,  ar- 
dent charity,  unbounded  generosity,  incessant  activity, — such 
is  the  example  which  a  few  humble  sons  of  Scotland  have 
lately  set  to  the  Christian  world  ;  and  their  example  has  al- 
ready found  imitators  in  our  own  country, — in  Vaud.  But 
watchfulness  is  never  more  necessary  than  on  the  day  suc- 
ceeding a  victory.  We  all  know1  what  is  meant  by  the  recoil 
of  artillery.  The  gun  that  has  the  heaviest  charge,  and 
sends  its  bullet  to  the  greatest  distance,  is  the  piece  that  will 
recoil  the  most.  A  great  forward  movement  is  usually  fol- 
lowed by  one  in  a  contrary  direction.  "  That  is  nothing," 
recently  exclaimed  a  Frenchman,*  eminent  in  the  church ; 
"  that  is  nothing,  provided  we  imitate  the  artillery-men, — 
restore  the  cannons  to  their  place,  and  load  and  fire  again." 

In  speaking  of  Scotland  we  have  already  said :  "  A  re- 
vival is  generally  followed  by  a  lethargy,  and  a  great  eleva- 
tion by  a  great  fall."  Much  still  remains  to  be  done  by  the 
Christians  of  the  Free  Church.  We  desire  to  see  all  Scotland 
— that  noble  country — united  as  one  heart  to  combat  under 
the  standard  of  Christ  and  of  the  fathers.  But  this  is  not 
all.  The  cause  of  the  liberty,  and  purity,  and  life  of  the 
church  must  make  the  tour  of  the  globe,  and  be  everywhere 
established.  Let  us  all,  then,  gather  courage,  perseverance, 
and  strength !  Let  there  be  no  recoil — no  shrinking  back ! 
*  M.  Ie  Comte  Agenor  de  Gasparin. 


APPENDIX, 


Note  A. 

CONTRIBUTION   TO   THE    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY    OF   THE 
NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

PROTESTANTISM   IN   THE   GERMAN   PROVINCES   OF   RUSSIA. 

FEW  events  in  the  contemporary  history  of  the  chuch  ap- 
pear to  me  of  greater  interest  than  the  struggle  at  present 
going  on  between  the  Protestant  churches  in  Russia,  and 
that  Oriental  giant,  the  power  of  the  Greek  church  and  of 
the  Autocrat,  which  threatens  to  overwhelm  them.  Not- 
withstanding the  indifference  (this  is  the  mildest  term  I  can 
use)  with  which  a  former  communication  of  mine,  on  the 
subject  of  these  churches,  has  been  received  in  England ; 
these  events  are  of  such  a  nature,  appealing  to  the  heart  of 
every  evangelical  Christian,  that  I  think  it  my  duty  to  recur 
to  them.  I  will  first  repeat  the  letter  I  wrote  in  1846,  to 
the  president  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  and  afterwards 
add  more  circumstantial  details. 

Letter  to  Sir  Culling  Eardley  Smith,  Bart* 

"  Sir  Culling, 

****** 

"  The  Duchies  of  Livonia,  Courland,  and  Esthonia,  were 
subdued  by  the  Russians  towards  the  commencement  of  the 

*  This  letter,  written  in  French,  was  translated  into  English,  with 
a  trifling  error,  which  has  been  here  corrected.  It  appeared  in  several 
periodicals. 


350  APPENDIX. 

last  century,  after  a  most  bloody  war,  in  the  course  of  which 
all  the  cities  were  destroyed,  with  the  exception  of  Riga, 
Pernau,  and  Revel.  A  treaty  made  in  1710,  secured  to  them 
the  Evangelical  religion,  according  to  the  Augsburg  Confes- 
sion, as  the  only  religion  of  the  country ;  and  further  treaties 
between  Sweden  (to  whom  these  duchies  formerly  belonged) 
and  Russia,  such  as  that  of  Nystaedt  in  1721,  and  of  Aboer 
in  1743,  moreover  declared,  that  the  church  was  to  be  pre- 
served, such  as  it  then  existed.  Any  other  mode  of  wor- 
ship, excepting  in  the  private  houses  of  the  foreign  ambas- 
sadors, with  closed  doors,  was  illegal ;  and  the  children  of 
mixed  marriages  were  brought  up  Protestants.  During  the 
time  of  Peter  the  Great,  these  treaties  were  observed.  Un- 
der the  reign  of  the  Empresses  Elizabeth  and  Catherine  II., 
they  began  to  be  neglected ;  and  in  1794,  a  ukase,  issued  in 
1721,  with  respect  to  the  Swedish  prisoners  of  war  who 
were  carried  to  Siberia,  was  applied  to  these  provinces ;  by 
virtue  of  which  the  children  of  mixed  marriages  were  obliged 
to  be  brought  up  in  the  Greek  religion. 

"  But  under  the  present  emperor,  the  violation  of  the 
treaties  has  made  immense  progress ;  and,  instead  of  the 
Conservative  principles  which  one  might  have  expected  to 
predominate  in  that  government,  the  most  Radical  and  even 
Revolutionary  principles  seem  to  prevail,  little  as  such  could 
be  expected  from  an  emperor  of  Russia. 

"In  1837  or  1838,  a  Greek  bishop  was  fixed  at  Riga, 
where  there  had  never  yet  been  one.  For  a  short  time  he 
remained  inactive  ;  but  soon  his  emissaries  were  sent  round 
the  country  to  labor  for  converts. 

"In  1841,  while  these  provinces  suffered  under  a  severe 
famine,  the  poor  people  were  assured,  that  if  they  became 
converts  to  the  Greek  religion  they  should  be  removed  into 
a  fertile  district  in  the  south  of  Russia,  where  they  should 
be  exempted  from  taxes,  and  from  military  service.  They 
came  to  Riga  in  crowds,  from  the  wish  to  be  removed  into 
these  districts :  the  movement  extended  throughout  the 


PROTESTANTISM    IN    RUSSIA.  351 

greater  part  of  Livonia  :  the  peasants  refused  to  work ;  and 
the  excitement  rose  to  such  a  pitch,  that  military  force  was 
obliged  to  be  called  in  to  restore  tranquillity.  The  Greek 
bishop  and  his  clergy,  the  authors  of  these  troubles,  were 
removed  indeed  from  Riga,  but  were  promoted  to  places  of 
greater  importance.  The  bishop's  successor  at  first  con- 
ducted himself  peaceably ;  only  the  Russian  Catechism  and 
Liturgy  was  translated  into  the  language  of  the  country. 
(Esthonian  and  Lithuanian.) 

"  In  1845,  a  Russian,  named  Michaelof,  steward  to  a  noble 
of  the  country,  having  committed  a  considerable  robbery, 
and  being  discovered,  hanged  himself  to  avoid  the  public 
punishment  of  his  crime.  He  was  found,  recovered,  and 
sent  to  St.  Petersburg  in  order  to  be  proceeded  against. 
As  he  understood  the  language  of  Lithuania,  it  was  thought 
he  might  be  useful  in  the  country :  the  prosecution  was 
withdrawn ;  they  made  him  a  Russian  priest,  and  sent  him 
back  to  Lithuania,  where  he  became,  under  the  direction  of 
the  bishop,  the  principal  agent  in  the  conversions.  They 
renewed  the  same  promises  made  some  years  before.  While 
the  first  time  none  of  the  peasants  had  become  Greeks,  they 
hastened  now  to  anoint  all  that  presented  themselves  ;  hav- 
ing made  them  sign  petitions  in  the  Russian  language,  which 
they  could  not  understand — in  which  they  thought  they 
were  asking  the  protection  of  the  bishop  for  their  temporal 
interests,  but  where,  in  fact,  they  made  them  seek  to  be 
united  to  the  Greek  Church. 

"In  February,  1845,  a  Greek  church  was  established  at 
Riga  for  the  proselytes,  where  the  service  was  held  in  the 
forenoon,  according  to  the  Greek  rites,  in  the  language  of 
the  country ;  in  the  afternoon,  the  service  was  according  to 
the  form  of  worship  of  the  Moravian  Brethren,  to  whom  the 
converts  were  before  attached.  Michaelof  was  the  priest  of 
this  church.  At  first  each  proselyte  was  richly  rewarded ; 
now  the  rate  is  thirty  copeks  (about  one  shilling).  Michaelof 
traversed  the  country,  provided  with  money  to  anoint  with- 


352  APPENDIX. 

out  delay  all  those  who  wished  it ;  at  the  same  time,  a  Ger- 
man called  Burger,  attached  to  the  governor-general,  trav- 
ersed other  districts  to  excite  the  same  movement.  It  is  re- 
ported that  the  Greek  agents  were  provided  with  a  magic 
lantern,  by  means  of  which  they  showed  them  gigantic 
cows  and  sheep,  telling  them  that  such  were  the  animals  of 
the  country  promised  to  them.  The  images,  vases,  and  sa- 
cerdotal ornaments  required  in  the  Russian  worship,  were 
conveyed  in  a  car ;  and  the  governor-general  ordered  that 
each  proprietor  should  give  the  best  place  he  was  able  to 
celebrate  the  Greek  worship :  they  there  fixed  their  pictures, 
&c.,  and  anointed  all  who  presented  themselves.  The  Greek 
clergy  recognize  Protestant  baptism,  but  they  complete  it  by 
unction.  By  means  of  this  roving  church,  as  it  has  been 
called,  sometimes  even  300  men  have  been  anointed  in  one 
day. 

"They  say  to  the  peasants  (and  prove  to  them,  by  quoting 
Daniel  xi.  38,  39.,  and  xii.  1.),  that  the  German  Protestants 
were  rent  from  the  ancient  Christian  faith,  and  had  fallen 
under  the  power  of  Antichrist,  and  that  the  Greek  priest 
Michaelof  was  the  great  prince  Michael,  spoken  of  in  Daniel 
xii.,  who  fights  for  his  people;  and  that  those  only,  who 
cause  themselves  to  be  inscribed  in  Michaelof 's  book,  would 
be  delivered  from  the  power  of  Antichrist. 

"  At  Dorpat,  and  in  the  neighborhood,  thousands  thus  pre- 
sented themselves  to  the  Greek  priest ;  several  amongst  them 
being  drunk,  he  sent  to  Petersburg  to  inquire  what  he  ought 
to  do  in  such  a  case ;  one  of  the  members  of  the  Senate,  at- 
tached to  the  department  of  foreign  worship,  ('  des  cultes 
etrangers,')  answered,  that  these  people  must  be  accepted,  in 
whatever  state  they  presented  themselves. 

"The  movement  was  almost  exclusively  confined  to  the 
men — the  women  were  opposed  to  it.  They  pulled  off  the 
crosses  that  had  been  hung  round  their  husbands'  necks, 
trampled  the  images  under  foot,  and  would  not  allow  their 
new-born  infants  to  be  baptized.  All  the  children  of  the 


PROTESTANTISM    IN    RUSSIA.  353 

converts,  under  seven,  are  considered  as  belonging  to  the 
Greek  Church ;  the  converts  are  taught  to  make  the  sign  of 
the  cross ;  they  are  instructed  in  some  outward  practices ; 
but  religious  instruction,  in  the  right  sense,  is  not  thought  of. 
At  the  time  of  their  conversion,  they  make  them  sign  a  dec- 
laration in  the  Russian  language,  by  which  they  declare  that 
it  is  not  for  temporal  interests  that  they  have  changed  their 
religion. 

"  Those  who  have  become  Greeks  by  anointing  are  defini- 
tively lost  to  Protestantism :  whoever  sought  to  bring  back 
a  man  who  had  been  attached  to  the  Greek  Church  by  an- 
ointing would  encounter  the  most  severe  trouble. 

"  The  Greek  religion,  which  had  been  interdicted  in  these 
provinces  by  treaty,  is  now  publicly  called  '  the  ruling  relig- 
ion ;'  and  the  Lutheran  religion,  which  was  alone  to  be  pro- 
fessed, is  now  only  called  a  tolerated  church. 

"  The  latest  journals  announce,  that  the  efforts  continue  for 
converting  the  Protestants  of  these  countries.  A  member  of 
the  Russian  Senate,  who  has  distinguished  himself  in  the 
labors  undertaken  to  re-unite  the  Roman  Catholics  to  the 
Greek  Church,  said,  if  he  had  only  a  '  carte  blanche,'  he 
would  undertake,  in  three  years,  to  re-unite  to  the  Greek  re- 
ligion all  the  inhabitants  of  the  three  provinces  of  Livonia, 
Courland,  and  Esthonia.  Up  to  this  time  they  have  labored 
principally  in  the  first  of  these  (which  is  the  largest)  with  a 
view  to  convert  it. 

"  The  three  provinces  contained,  in  1831,  1,500,000  inhab- 
itants ;  since  that  time  the  population  has  greatly  increased. 

"  No  doubt  a  voice  must  be  raised  against  these  efforts  ; 
but  Protestant  ministers  are  forbidden  to  speak  of  the  dif- 
ferences of  Confessions,  or  to  strengthen  their  parishioners 
beforehand  against  adhering  to  the  Greek  Church.  The 
Russians  themselves  are  agitated  by  these  conversions : 
some  peasants  of  the  governments  of  Witebok  and  Pleskow, 
although  already  Greeks,  have  asked  to  be  registered,  so 


354  APPENDIX. 

that  they  might  belong,  they  said,  '  to  the  new  religion,  by 
which  lands  are  obtained.' 

"A  few  of  the  proselytes  evince  a  bitter  repentance,  and 
have  asked  the  Governor-general's  permission  to  return  to 
their  religion  :  he  has  sought  to  calm  them,  without  granting 
their  request,  which,  in  fact,  would  be  impossible,  as  I  have 
said ;  other  proselytes  show  great  obduracy  and  contempt : 
'  all  religions  are  alike  indifferent  to  us  ;  and  if  we  have  that 
of  the  Emperor,  he  will  know  well  how  to  protect  us  and  give 
us  the  lands  of  the  nobles.' 

"Unfortunately,  the  Protestants  themselves  have  faults 
to  reproach  themselves  with.  We  must  distinguish  three 
classes  of  persons  in  this  country  : — 

"  1st,  The  country  people  or  peasants,  who  are  natives  of 
the  country,  and  speak  Esthonian  and  Lettois ;  2d,  The  no- 
bility, who  are  of  German  origin,  who  speak  German,  and 
are  descended  from  the  Teutonic  Knights  who  conquered 
the  country  seven  or  eight  centuries  ago ;  3rd,  The  Mora- 
vian Brethren,  who  came  into  these  provinces  about  a  cen- 
tury ago,  and  at  a  time  when  faith  was  nearly  extinguished 
there,  as  it  was  throughout  the  whole  Continent.  They  re- 
vived piety  there,  and  acquired  numerous  adherents,  the 
greatest  number  of  whom  are  to  be  found  among  the  original 
inhabitants  of  the  country.  It  is  reckoned  that  40,000  Li- 
vonians  are  members  of  the  Moravian  Society." 

"  The  Lutheran  pastors,  vexed  by  seeing  the  greatest  part 
of  their  flocks  joining  the  Moravian  meetings,  caused  the 
peasants  to  be  forbidden  to  attend  these  meetings.  The 
Government  and  the  Greek  clergy  fomented  this  division 
between  the  Lutherans  and  Moravians :  they  then  profited 
by  it ;  and  the  Bishop  of  Riga  was  delighted  to  permit,  in 
his  new  church,  meetings  which  were  everywhere  else  pro- 
hibited. The  result  was,  that  people  attached  to  the  Mora- 
vians, (who  are  the  most  pious  in  the  country,)  went  to  be 
registered,  in  order  that  they  might  become  Greeks ;  and 
their  example  has  had  a  great  influence  upon  their  fellow- 


PROTESTANTISM   IN   RUSSIA.  355 

citizens.  The  influence  of  the  Marovians  has  been  good,  as 
relates  to  the  pious  sentiments  of  the  heart ;  but  it  appears 
that  they  have  taught  their  adherents  to  attach  little  im- 
portance to  outward  forms  of  the  church,  so  that  these  have 
passed  easily  from  the  Protestant  to  the  Greek  form. 

"  The  people  are  thus  irritated  at  the  same  time  against 
their  lords  and  against  their  pastors,  both  of  whom  are  Ger- 
mans. They  look  upon  the  former  as  opposed  to  their  tem- 
poral interests,  and  to  the  latter  as  opposed  to  their  spiritual 
interests  ;  and  blindly  throw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  the 
Russians  and  Greek  clergy. 

"  The  nobility  and  the  pastors  begin  to  feel  their  duties  ; 
several  amongst  them  have  done  so  for  a  long  time  ;  but  the 
actual  tribulation  appears  to  have  opened  the  eyes  of  those 
who,  until  the  present  moment,  had  them  closed.  They  seek 
to  be  reconciled  to  the  people,  and  to  do  them  good ;  they 
would  wish  to  keep  them  in  the  Evangelical  faith,  but  it  is 
to  be  feared  it  is  too  late. 

"  Pious  Christians  in  these  countries — and  they  are  pretty 
numerous — are  greatly  afflicted  ;  they  cry  to  God  ;  they 
meet  for  prayer ;  they  ask  their  brethren  to  intercede  for 
them  at  the  throne  of  grace ;  but  they  are  persuaded  that 
they  can  in  no  other  way  help  them. 

"  These  are  the  most  faithful  subjects  of  the  Russian  em- 
pire ;  when  there  were  revolutions  in  Russia,  they  were  or- 
derly and  quiet,  knowing  that  God  requires  obedience  to  the 
higher  powers ;  and  they  would,  therefore,  now  fear  any 
proceeding,  that  could  call  in  question  their  loyalty  and  obe- 
dience to  their  sovereign. 

"  The  only  object  of  this  letter,  is,  to  beg  of  you  to  com- 
municate to  the  brethren  assembled  in  London,  the  dangers 
which  threaten  to  uproot  three  of  the  most  ancient  Protes- 
tant Churches  of  Europe ;  and  to  commend  this  object  to 
the  prayers  of  all.  I  know  not  whether  you  will  be  able  to 
do  more. 

"  MERLE  D'AUBIGNE." 


356  APPENDIX. 

The  limits  of  a  letter  did  not  permit  me,  in  writing  to  my 
honorable  friend,  Sir  Culling  Eardley,  to  enter  further  into 
particulars.  I  intend  to  do  so  in  this  place.  But  wishing  to 
remain  an  impartial  historian,  I  content  myself  with  quoting 
some  most  credible  documents  upon  which  my  statements 
are  founded.  This  narrative  will,  therefore,  be  composed 
essentially  of  extracts :  its  authenticity  will  thus  be  unques- 
tionable, and  it  perhaps  may  not  lose  in  interest  by  this  cir- 
cumstance. 

In  speaking  of  impartiality,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  I 
am  undecided  in  this  contest  between  the  Greeks  and  the 
Lutherans,  between  the  Russians  and  the  Livonians.  All  my 
sympathy  is  with  the  latter.  But  there  is  another  struggle 
besides, — that  between  the  Moravians  and  the  Lutherans, — 
and  in  this  it  is  more  difficult  to  decide.  In  some  respects 
I  lean  towards  the  Moravians.  They  have  hi  their  favor  two 
causes  very  dear  to  me, — those  of  piety,  and  of  freedom. 
But  we  must  render  unto  every  one  his  due.  There  is  also 
much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  Lutherans  ;  and  at  this  time, 
when  the  Protestant  Church  of  Livonia  is  engaged  in  so  ter- 
rible a  conflict  with  an  antagonist  so  powerful,  who  can  re- 
fuse to  her  this  just  tribute  of  respect,  compassion,  and  love  ? 


THE   LUTHERANS    AND   THE    MORAVIANS. 

THE  community  of  Hernhutt  has  exercised  its  Christian 
activity  in  the  Germanic  duchies  of  Russia  ever  since  the 
earliest  times  of  its  formation.  A  dead  orthodoxy  was  then 
reigning  there,  and  the  Moravian  Brethren  (whom  the  church 
of  Christ  has  always  reckoned  among  her  most  valuable  wit- 
nesses) sought  to  win  souls  to  the  Saviour.  Christian  David 
first  visited  the  Duchies  in  1729.  Nitchmann  went  thither 
in  1731,  and  the  excellent  Count  Zinzendorf,  that  disciple  of 


PROTESTANTISM    IN    RUSSIA.  357 

Christ,  in  whom  the  features  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  John  were 
blended  together,  repaired  to  Revel  in  1736. 

The  Lutheran  Church  soon  opposed  the  work  of  the  Breth- 
ren; and  in  1744  an  act  of  Consistory  was  decreed,  forbid- 
ding the  Moravian  laborers  from  being  received  into  a  church 
without  the  permission  of  the  Consistory.  This,  however, 
could  not  impede  the  Moravians,  since,  conformably  to  their 
principles,  they  were  only  to  offer  themselves  to  the  national 
ministers,  as  assistants  in  bringing  souls  to  Christ,  carefully 
abstaining  from  any  infringement  of  ecclesiastical  order. 

Nevertheless,  difficulties  soon  presented  themselves.  We 
will  here  quote  a  report  made  to  the  Synod  of  Linden,  on 
the  12th  June,  1845,  by  one  of  the  most  respected  min- 
isters of  that  country.  But  we  will  previously  communicate 
a  few  remarks,  which  were  sent  to  us  in  a  private  letter,  in 
reference,  to  this  valuable  document : — "  This  report,"  says 
a  Livonian  correspondent,  "  has  been  communicated  to  the 
elders  of  the  United  Brethren,  and  they  have  received  it  with 
all  the  charity  and  impartiality  which  was  to  be  expected 
from  true  disciples  of  Christ.  They  have  not  given  utterance 
to  the  least  contradiction,  to  the  slightest  blame ;  but  they 
assert,  that  they  well  understand  that  the  interference  of  a 
third  party  in  the  care  of  souls  must  be  most  painful  to  a 
faithful  pastor ;  adding,  that  they  would  not  themselves  wil- 
lingly be  placed  in  the  situation  of  such  a  pastor,  and  man- 
ifesting the  desire  of  seeing  a  good  understanding  restored 
between  the  Moravians  and  the  Lutherans." 

We*  now  come  to  what  is  said  on  the  Lutheran  and  Mora- 
vian discussions  in  the  official  Report  made  to  the  Synod  of 
Linden : — 

"  The  National  Church  has  reason  to  complain  that  the 
(Moravian)  Brethren  have  overstepped  the  limits  prescribed 
to  them  ;  that  they  have  established  an  ecclesiastical  and 
isolated  agency  of  their  own,  and  have  thus  brought  about  a 
pernicious  separatism.  The  National  Church  may  have  cause 
to  reproach  herself  for  having,  by  her  dead  orthodoxy,  and 


358  APPENDIX. 

afterwards  by  her  decided  rationalism  and  worldly  indiffer- 
ence, occasioned  this  state  of  things.  Yet,  since  the  life- 
giving  breath  of  God,  more  than  ten  years  ago,  awoke  her 
from  her  slumber,  she  could  no  longer  keep  silence  on  this 
subject."* 

An  interference  of  the  civil  power  seems  to  have  had  some 
influence  over  the  circumstances  in  question.  "In  1817,  the 
emperor  granted  a  letter  of  privilege  (Frey  Brief)  to  the  Mo- 
ravian Church  for  Livonia  and  Esthonia.  By  this  act  the 
Protestant  Church  beheld  her  unity  endangered.  In  fact, 
this  church  had  hitherto  been  as  one,  independent  in  all  es- 
sential matters  of  the  heterodox  (Greek)  power  of  the  state. 
Now,  the  church  of  the  Brethren  (which  doubtless  belongs 
to  the  Evangelical  Church)  was  entirely  separated,  in  her 
administration  and  her  representation,  from  the  Evangelical 
Church  of  the  country,  and  placed  directly  under  the  protec- 
tion of  a  civil  and  heterodox  ministry.  This  heterodox  state 
soon  found  it  to  be  its  interest  to  put  in  practice,  with  re- 
spect to  these  two  branches  of  the  same  same  tree,  the  maxim, 
Divide  et  impera.  The  Lord  has  sent  such  judgments  upon 
the  Evangelical  Church  in  order  to  save  the  one  that  may  be 
enabled  still  to  continue  such.  His  judgments  against  Ju- 
dah  and  Israel  were  according  to  the  decrees  of  his  right- 
eousness, but  also  according  to  those  of  his  grace."f  We 
will  only  add,  that  if  the  Moravians  were  desirous  of  the 
privilege  which  the  state  then  granted  them,  they  probably 
were  so  on  account  of  the  difficulties  thrown,  in  their  way  by 
the  Lutheran  Church.  . 

Between  1830  and  1834,  a  new  life  began  in  the  churches 
of  Livonia.  "  Amidst  the  judgments  that  weighed  her  down, 
the  church  was  reviving  according  to  the  ancient  adage, 
Ecclesia  pressa,  ecclesm  victrix.  The  Lord  had  raised  up 
within  her  faithful  servants,  preachers  of  his  gracious  coun- 

*  Report  made  to  the  Synod  of  Linden,  12th  June,  1845. 
•f  Letter  of  a  Pilgrim  to  the  Heavenly  Canaan  (Eines  Mitpilgers  ins 
Himmlische  Canaan). 


PROTESTANTISM    IN    RUSSIA.  359 

sels.  But  a  new  generation  of  pastors  having  entered  into 
office,  found  the  mass  of  the  people  lying  in  ignorance,  indif- 
ferent as  to  salvation,  like  scattered  and  wandering  sheep. 
Only  a  small  number  of  them  were  anxious  as  to  their  eter- 
nal salvation ;  but  these  Christians,  attached  to  the  directors 
and  the  deacons  of  the  Moravian  Brethren  generally,  consid- 
ered the  pastors  of  the  Evangelical  Church  (without  making 
much  distinction  among  them)  as  unbelievers,  who  filled  the 
ministerial  office  only  for  the  sake  of  providing  for  their  tem- 
poral wants."* 

We  return  to  the  Report  of  the  Synod  of  Linden  ; — 
"The  Moravian  deacons,  instead  of  seeking  kindly  inter- 
course with  the  Livonian  pastors,  rather  avoided  them  ;  and 
latterly,  it  was  precisely  with  the  most  evangelical  of  the 
Lutheran  ministers  that  they  were  on  the  worst  terms  ;  while 
they  were  on  a  very  friendly  footing  with  those  of  the  pas- 
tors who  were  still  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. It  cannot  be  denied  that  many  of  the  Moravian  labor- 
ers possessed  extensive  knowledge,  and  even  valuable  gifts  ; 
but  the  church  cannot  approve  of  some  of  their  views.  '  We 
are  the  good  seed,'  said  they ;  '  those  who  are  not  Moravians 
are  the  tares.  Hernhutt  is  the  true  church,  the  city  set  on 
a  hill,  the  church  of  the  first-born ;  the  Lutheran  and  the 
other  churches  form  the  church  of  this  world.'  "f 

An  ever-increasing  opposition  was  thus  formed  by  the 
Lutherans  against  the  Moravians,  and  it  must  be  owned, 
this  opposition  frequently  proceeded  from  feelings  very  con- 
trary to  the  Gospel.  They  falsely  confounded  the  religion 
of  the  Moravians  with  pietism  and  mysticism  j  they  called  all 
truly  evangelical  Christians  Moravians  or  Hernhutters.  The 
Lutherans  often  acted  quite  otherwise  than  St.  Paul ;  they 
took  counsel  of  flesh  and  blood.  They  desired  to  forbid  the 
free  assemblies  of  the  faithful,  the  free  prayers  of  Christian 

*  Letter  of  a  Pilgrim  to  the  Heavenly  Canaan  (Eines  Mitpilgers  in- 
Himmlische  Canaan). 

f  Report  to  the  Synod  of  Linden. 


360  APPENDIX. 

people,  the  industry  of  the  Moravian  laborers.  Thus  the 
Lutheran  Church  exhibited  another  instance  of  that  intoler- 
ance to  which  a  predominant  church  is  so  easily  prone.  In 
this,  every  evangelical  Christian  will  not  hesitate  to  side  with 
the  Moravians,  and  to  plead  their  cause,  which  was  that  of 
liberty  and  piety. 


.     II. 

THE  CONVERSIONS  TO  THE  GREEK  CHURCH. 

THE  Livonian  Church  was  punished  for  her  intolerance ; 
for  soon  afterwards  conversions  to  the  Greek  Church  were 
commenced  within  her  pale. 

"  There  were  at  Riga  among  the  Lettes*  several  Mora- 
vians, who  had  come  thither  to  work  at  their  trades,  .or  in 
manufactories.  The  Moravian  deacon,  Neumann,  presided 
at  their  meetings  ;  but  these  people  were  discontented,  be- 
cause every  thing  was  not  done  according  to  the  usual  man- 
ner. They  consequently  applied  to  the  Lutheran  ministers 
of  the  town.  One  of  these,  the  Pastor  Frey,  allowed  them 
meetings,  which  he  either  conducted  himself,  or  caused  to 
be  conducted ;  but  learning  that  the  proceedings  of  one  of 
these  meetings  had  not  been  according  to  his  wish,  he  put  a 
stop  to  them.  These  people  then  addressed  themselves  to 
the  Greek  bishop,  at  the  instigation,  it  appears,  of  two  men, 
Charles  Ernst,  and  Peter  Ballohd,  the  latter  of  whom  had 
formerly  been  a  Moravian  Evangelist  laborer.  The  men 
who  went  to  the  bishop  related  in  triumph  to  the  deacon, 
Neumann,  that  the  bishop  had  received  them  very  cour- 
teously ;  that  he  had  asked  for  their  books,  which  he  had  re- 
turned some  time  after,  saying,  that  they  were  very  good 

*  It  is  well  known  that  the  Lettes  form  the  mass  of  the  population 
in  Lithuania,  in  Esthonia,  in  Courland,  in  Semi-Galle,  especially  in  the 
country  parts.  They  belong  to  the  Lithuanian  race.  The  Lettish  lan- 
guage has  two  principal  dialects,  the  pure  Lettish  and  the  Semi-Gall. 


PROTESTANTISM    IN    RUSSIA.  361 

ones,  and  he  had  permitted  them  to  hold  their  assemblies 
on  Sundays,  at  the  same  hour  as  the  churches.  It  is  even 
added,  that  he  gave  them  a  paper,  which  they  were  to  show 
in  case  the  police  should  be  inclined  to  disturb  them.  At 
the  sight  of  this  paper,  it  was  said,  '  the  director  of  the 
jDolice  would  take  off  his  hat.'  "* 

Such  was  the  first  phasis  of  these  events ;  now  comes  the 
second. 

"  About  the  end  of  February,  or  the  beginning  of  March, 
(1845),  a  report  was  all  at  once  noised  through  the  town 
(Riga)  that  a  petition  for  the  founding  of  a  Greek  Lettish 
church  had  been  presented.  On  further  inquiries,  this  much 
was  afterwards  ascertained  on  the  subject : — A  Lettish  pe- 
tition, signed  by  eleven  Lettes,  had  been  transmitted  to  the 
bishop,  to  the  following  purport.  The  petitioners  desired 
to  come  over  to  the 'Orthodox  church  (pareisitiz  ziga),  on 
condition  that  a  separate  church  should  be  assigned  to  them, 
and  a  separate  service  in  the  Lettish  language ;  that  Ballohd 
should  be  given  them  as  Mahzitais  (pastor),  and  Charles 
Ernst,  as  director  of  the  church ;  that  they  should  be  al- 
lowed to  use  their  Lettish  hymns,  &c.  This  petition  was 
translated  into  Russian  by  the  bishop's  secretary,  and  the 
petitioners  were  requested  to  allow  their  signatures  to  be 
legalized  by  the  police.  It  was  ascertained,  that  besides  the 
eleven  subscribers,  about  an  equal  number  of  Lettes  had 
appeared  before  the  police ;  that  one  of  them,  being  spokes- 
man, had  complained  of  the  Lutheran  pastors  of  the  town, 
stating,  that  they  would  not  allow  them  liberty  as  to  their 
faith,  and  adding,  that  many  others  (three  hundred,  accord- 
ing to  some  accounts)  had  the  same  intentions  as  them- 
selves."f 

The  report  laid  before  the  Synod  of  Linden,  12th  June, 

*  Memorial  of  Professor  Ulmann.  We  must  not  confound  him  with 
the  Dr.  Ullmann  of  Heidelberg,  mentioned  elsewhere.  The  one  now 
spoken  of  was  a  professor  in  a  Russian  university. 

f  Professor  Ulmann's  Memorial. 
16 


362  APPENDIX. 

1845,  contains  exactly  the  same  facts.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
repeat  them. 

It  must  here  be  observed,  that  according  to  the  documents 
now  before  us,  the  people  who,  in  the  German  duchies  of 
Russia,  are  attached  to  the  Moravians,  may  be  arranged  un- 
der three  categories.  One  of  these  documents  has  the  fol- 
lowing statement  respecting  this : — "  The  church  of  the 
Brethren  does  not,  in  these  duchies,  form  distinct  commu- 
nities, as  at  Hernhutt,  Neuwied,  &c.  The  Brethren  are  in 
Diaspora  (dispersion) ;  they  are  members  of  the  predomi- 
nant church,  and  attend  worship  with  it.  But  they  have 
besides  meetings  among  themselves  in  the  different  parishes, 
conducted  by  directors  or  readers,  who  are  themselves  un- 
der the  rule  of  the  deacons  of  the  church  of  the  Brethren. 
These  meetings  are  of  two  kinds,  the  larger  or  public,  and 
the  smaller  or  select.  All  who  desire  to  be  edified  may  at- 
tend the  larger  meetings.  But  as  to  the  smaller  ones,  those 
only  are  admitted  who,  after  a  formal  reception,  have  become 
members  of  the  Church  of  the  Brethren  in  Diaspora.  Those 
who  have  long  attended  the  larger  assemblies,  and  who  are 
recommended  by  the  directors,  may  apply  for  membership. 
Nevertheless,  they  are  received  only  when  the  lot  has  decid- 
ed in  their  favor.  This  custom  has  been  vigorously  attacked 
by  the  Protestant  Church.  Yet  we  must  distinguish  from 
these  church  members,  (these  brethren  in  Diaspora,}  those 
who  inhabit  places  where  there  is  a  Moravian  church,  such 
as  Hernhutt  and  Neuwied,  in  Germany,  and  Sarepta,  in 
Russia.  These  latter  are  the  Hernhutters  properly  so  called. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Moravian  deacons  sent  to  Livonia, 
by  the  Conference  of  the  Elders,  we  find  in  these  duchies 
but  few  Moravians  of  this  description."* 

The  same  document  contains  the  following  information,  as 
to  the  fact  of  the  petition. 

"  The  eleven  Lettes  who  applied  to  the  Greek  Bishop  of 
Riga,  in  order  to  remove  from  the  Evangelical  to  the  Greek 

*  Letter  of  a  Pilgrim  to  the  Heavenly  Canaan. 


PROTESTANTISM    IN    RUSSIA.  363 

Church,  were  inhabitants  of  Riga.  They  were  men  who  had 
at  least  frequently  attended  the  public  assemblies  of  the 
Church  of  the  Brethren.  As  to  the  question  whether  they 
had  been  formally  admitted  Members  of  the  Church  of  the 
Brethren  in  Diaspora,  this  cannot  be  ascertained  with  regard 
to  every  individual,  as  there  exists  no  official  list  of  the 
members.  But  in  the  official  deeds  (in  officiellen  Schreiben*) 
they  are  designated  as  Members  in  Diaspora.  The  motive 
which  these  eleven  Lettes  state  officially  as  the  reason  of 
their  conversion,  strengthens  the  supposition,  that  they  were 
all  members  of  the  Church  of  the  Brethren  in  Diaspora : 
for  they  complain,  in  their  petition,  that  the  Lutheran  pas- 
tors of  Riga  prevented  them  from  holding  their  meetings 
among  themselves,  'after  the  manner  of  the  Church  of  the 
Brethren ;'  and  if  they  wished  to  enter  within  the  pale  of 
the  Church,  it  was  because  an  impostor  of  the  Greek  Con- 
fession, a  man  convicted  of  theft,  Michaelof,  had  told  them 
that  in  the  Greek  Church,  they  would  be  allowed  their 
meetings  in  the  Lettish  language,  after  the  manner  of  the 
Church  of  the  Brethren."! 

The  work  of  proselytism  by  the  Greek  Church  extended 
more  and  more.  We  continue  our  extracts  : — 

"  The  proselytism  of  the  bishop,  particularly  by  means  of 
Charles  Ernst,  still  continued.  This  latter  was  indefatiga- 
ble :  he  visited  people,  and  induced  them  to  give  in  their 
names,  as  being  desirous  of  obtaining  from  the  bishop  the 
liberty  of  holding  their  Hernhutt  assemblies.  When  any 

one  consented  to  this,  his  name  was  subscribed 

We  are  certainly  informed,  that  forty  Lettes  received  the 
unction  on  the  29th  of  April,  in  the  bishop's  chapel.  Pre- 
vious to  Easter,  a  Russian  church,  that  of  the  Cemetery  of 
Riga,  had  been  assigned  to  the  Lettes.  In  this  church  there 

*  The  author  probably  means  the  acts  of  the  government,  or  of  the 
Greek  Church,  where  the  converts  are  not  individually,  but  collectively 
mentioned. 

f  Letter  of  a  Pilgrim. 


364  APPENDIX. 

was  a  Greco-Lettish  worship,  and  Moravian  meetings,  and 
people  were  summoned  to  both  kinds  of  assemblies  in  the 
same  manner.  The  author  of  this  memorial,  and  other  per- 
sons worthy  of  credence,  are  themselves  cognizant  of  the 
fact.  Michaelof,  having  become  a  Greek  priest,  conducted 
the  Greek  worship  according  to  the  Greek  liturgy,  in  the 
Lettish  language.  In  the  same  place,  Ballohd  presided  over 
the  Moravian  meetings,  in  which  they  sang,  and  read  ser- 
mons taken  from  Lutheran  books  ;  and  in  this  manner  were 
the  people  attracted  and  led  astray.  On  Easter  Sunday,  at 
the  afternoon  service,  the  bishop  attended  a  meeting  of  this 
kind.  He  walked  through  the  Assembly,  remained  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  behind  the  Iconostas,  and  again  walked 
through  the  Assembly ;  his  hands  were  kissed,  and  he  gave 
the  blessing."* 

We  will  follow  this  account  no  further.  Every  one  knows 
that  the  conversions  from  Protestantism  to  the  Greek  Church 
have  since  made  considerable  progress.  It  is  enough  to  have 
seen  their  commencement. 


III. 

THE    SYNOD,    OR   PEACE. 

IT  can  be  doubted  by  no  one,  that  these  conversions  have 
caused  great  sorrow  to  the  worthy  elders  of  Hernhutt,  and 
all  other  pious  and  enlightened  Moravians.  It  is  sufficient 
to  be  acquainted  with  the  living  Christianity  of  these  breth- 
ren, to  be  certain  that  no  one,  either  within  the  Russian 
duchies,  or  elsewhere,  would  be  more  grieved  than  they 
were,  to  see  Protestants  leaving  the  Scriptural  worship,  in 
order  to  go  over  to  the  adoration  of  legends  and  pictures. 
We  are  even  convinced,  (though  the  documents  we  have  be- 
fore us  say  nothing  of  the  fact,)  that  the  conversions  which 
are  now  taking  place  are  especially,  if  not  exclusively,  among 
*  Memorial  of  Professor  Ulmann. 


PROTESTANTISM    IN    RUSSIA.  365 

those  Protestants  who  are  in  no  way  belonging  to  the  Mora- 
vian church.  But  it  is  easy  to  understand,  that  the  facts 
stated  in  the  documents  we  have  quoted,  must  have  ren- 
dered the  intercourse  between  the  ministers  of  the  National 
Church  and  the  Moravian  Brethren  more  unpleasant  than 
ever  to  both. 

To  consider  what  was  to  be  done  with  regard  to  this 
matter,  was  one  of  the  objects  of  the  Synod  which  assembled 
at  Linden,  the  12th  June,  1845.  There  existed  among  many 
of  the  Lutherans  a  very  decided  feeling,  that  the  best  way 
would  be  "  to  break  connection  entirely  with  the  agents  of 
the  community  of  the  Brethren,  and  to  establish  in  the  Lu- 
theran parishes  services  of  a  nature  calculated  to  satisfy  the 
adherents  of  the  Moravians."* 

But  though  there  were  some  St.  Peters  among  them,  there 
were  also  some  St.  Johns.  The  pious  author  of  the  Report 
we  have  often  quoted,  who  was  a  member  of  this  Synod,  ad- 
vanced a  very  different  opinion.  This  is  what  he  says : 
"Never  can  I  give  my  vote,  that  the  Brethren  should  be 
requested  to  withdraw  themselves,  by  saying  to  them,  '  De- 
part from  us.'  It  is  unlikely,  very  unlikely,  that  the  Breth- 
ren will  go  away;  and  were  they  even  to  do  so,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  peace  would  be  thus  restored  to  the  church. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  each  one  of  our  pastors  possesses  the 
gifts,  the  prudence,  and  the  charity  requisite  to  conduct  these 
meetings,  and  to  satisfy  those  who  frequent  them,  after  the 
German  laborers  have  withdrawn.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
the  departure  of  the  Moravian  Brethren  may  not  bring  about 
a  directly  opposite  result  to  that  which  is  desired,  and  en- 
gender a  separatism  which  it  will  be  still  more  difficult  to 
destroy."! 

This  pious  minister  then  proceeds  to  examine  the  means  to 
be  adopted ;  and  what  he  says  on  this  subject  is  too  beauti- 
ful, too  well  calculated  to  display  the  spirit  which  animates 

*  Memorial  of  Professor  Ulmann. 

f  Report  made  to  the  Synod  of  Linden. 


366  APPENDIX. 

many  of  the  leaders  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Livonia,  and 
too  worthy  of  being  imitated  in  other  countries,  for  us  not  to 
feel  great  pleasure  in  quoting  it. 

"  What  is  then  to  be  done  ?"  he  says  to  the  Synod. 
"  This,  in  my  opinion,  is  the  first  thigg  we  have  to  do ;  a 
thing  which  is  absolutely  necessary,  and  which  cannot  fail  of 
being  a  most  powerful  means.  It  is  that  we,  the  preachers 
and  ministers  of  the  work  of  reconciliation,  should  preach 
Christ  with  living  power,  not  only  by  our  words,  but  also  by 
our  behavior ;  and  that  we  should  devote  ourselves  to  the 
salvation  of  every  soul  committed  to  us,  with  more  love  and 
faithfulness  than  we  have  hitherto  done.  When  has  sepa- 
ratism been  overcome  in  any  other  way,  than  by  the  pure 
preaching  of  the  Cross,  by  the  vivifying  proclamation  of  the 
Gospel,  by  ardent  love  to  the  Lord,  and  to  every  one  of  the 
souls  that  he  has  redeemed  at  so  great  a  ransom,  and  by  faithful 
labor  in  the  Lord's  vineyard  ?  Preach  in  your  pulpits  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  savor  of  life  unto  life.  (2  Cor.  ii  16.)  Preach 
Christ  out  of  the  abundance  of  a  heart  which  has  learned  to 
know  him  as  a  Saviour ;  and  thus  will  you  drive  away  all 
deceitful  spirits  ;  you  will  scatter  all  the  assemblies  of  a  false 
'  worship ;  you  will  empty  the  conventicles  and  fill  your 
churches.  Love  each  soul  in  your  parish  according  to  the 
Lord's  will,  and  that  love  will  bring  down  the  walls  of  sep- 
aratism. If,  in  your  parish,  there  are  no  Hernhutters,  cause 
Presbyterian  institutions  to  be  set  up  within  them,  such  as 
the  church  ought  to  possess  in  her  normal  state.  Bestow  on 
your  congregations,  by  Bible  and  Missionary  meetings,  and 
by  pastoral  visits  to  the  cottage  of  each  of  our  peasants, 
bestow  on  them  in  this  way,  as  much,  nay,  even  more  than 
the  Moravians  have  to  offer  to  their  adherents.  This  is  what 
one  of  our  brethren  has  undertaken  to  do  for  some  years 
past,  and  he  has  reaped  abundant  blessings  for  his  flock,  and 
immeasurable  comfort  to  his  own  heart.  Labor  both  in  your 
study,  and  in  the  sacred  house  of  God,  whether  for  the  sci- 
entific cultivation  of  your  own  minds,  or  for  the  practical  ful- 


PROTESTANTISM    IN    RUSSIA.  367 

filment  of  your  functions  ;  whether  for  the  great  work  of  the 
church,  or  for  the  salvation  of  a  single  soul.  Labor  on ! 
But  never  work  without  prayer,  without  fervently  calling 
upon  the  name  of  Jesus,  Never  let  time  be  wanting  for 
this  occupation.  Luther  could  manage  to  find  three  hours 
a-day  for  this  holy  work.  Pray,  read,  unite  yourselves 
more  and  more  closely  with  the  Word  of  God.  Never  act, 
never  combat,  without  taking  hold  by  faith  of  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit.  Drive  the  Pope  out  of  your  own  hearts  ;  and 
before  you  pretend  to  overcome  that  false  spirituality  which" 
is  itself  nothing  but  an  overweening  pride,  first  become  hum- 
ble yourselves.  Bear  with  wisdom  and  with  mildness  the 
faults  of  the  sickly  and  the  weak.  Never  exaggerate  the 
claims  of  your  ministry ;  and  when  you  have  to  deal  with 
Moravian  laborers,  never  present  yourselves  before  them  as 
adversaries,  or  even  as  superiors  commissioned  to  inspect 
them,  but  as  friends  and  brethren,  who  agree  with  them  in 
essential  things.  Never  keep  yourselves,  your  wives,  and 
your  children  at  a  distance  from  the  members  of  your  con- 
gregations ;  never  stand  aloof  upon  the  haughty  footing  of 
your  noble  birth,*  but  live  among  them  as  friends,  as  fa- 
thers. Be  upon  the  same  scale  close  beside  them ;  stand 
before  the  cottages  of  our  peasantry.  Open  to  the  meanest 
of  your  parishioners  your  own  door,  your  own  heart,  your 
own  purse.  Thus  the  former  love  of  the  flocks  towards 
their  pastors  will  revive,  even  among  the  Hernhutters. 
They  will  no  longer  call  you  Pasaules  Mahzitaji,  that  is  to 
say,  preachers  of  the  world ;  still  less  will  they  regard  you 
as  Pasauligi,  that  is  to  say,  worldly  men.  They  will  behold 
.you  as  their  faithful,  their  beloved,  their  venerated  shep- 
herds, teachers,  and  fathers  !  In  truth,  if,  after  an  expe- 
rience of  twenty -four  years,  I  were  called  upon  to  answer 

*  It  is  well  known  that  the  common  people  of  the  German  duchies 
of  Russia  are  descended  from  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  country 
formerly  conquered  by  the  Teutonic  knights,  and  are  distinguished  by 
language  and  otherwise  from  the  descendants  of  the  knights. 


368  t       APPENDIX. 

this  question,  '  What  has  been  wanting  to  the  church  '?'  I 
should  be  obliged  to  answer  with  bitter  tears  of  repentance, 
'  What  has  been  wanting,  has  been  above  all  things — myself ! 
my  own  charity,  my  own  faithfulness,  my  own  vitality  !'  "* 

So  spoke  in  the  Synod  of  Linden  that  venerable  Livonian 
minister. 

This  discourse  is  one  of  the  finest  pages  in  the  annals  of 
the  church.  History  will  preserve  it.  I  esteem  myself 
happy  in  having  been  called  upon  to  make  it  known  to  my 
brethren.  Were  there  even  nothing  else  in  this  note,  I  should 
not  have  written  it  in  vain.  I  am  sure  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
will  re-echo  these  noble  accents  in  the  hearts  of  many  of  his 
servants. 

This  godly  minister  did  not  stop  here.  He  laid  before 
the  Synod  the  rule  of  conduct  which  the  ministers  of  the 
National  Church  should  pursue,  in  order  to  co-operate  peace- 
ably with  the  Moravian  laborers  in  the  advancement  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  within  the  church.  These  regulations  dis- 
play admirable  wisdom.  There  are  twelve  of  them.  For 
the  sake  of  brevity  I  will  mention  only  one,  the  eleventh : 
"  The  pastor  should  regularly,  at  least  once  a  year,  hold  a 
conference  with  the  Moravian  deacon  and  elder  who  labor 
among  his  flock.  Not  only  would  they  thus  endeavor,  mu- 
tually, to  keep  up  and  strengthen  a  good  understanding 
between  them  ;  but  the  pastor  would  also  receive  the  neces- 
sary information,  in  the  advancement  of  the  work  of  the 
Brethren."! 

This  plan  has  not  been  unavailing.  Thenceforward  the 
pastors  and  the  Moravian  laborers  have  proceeded  with 
more  harmony  in  the  work  of  God. 

This  was  possible ;  for  the  evangelical  ministers  of  Livo- 
nia, and  the  Christians  who  are  among  the  lay  nobility,  and 
who  are  still  more  numerous,  would  join  themselves  to  the 
successors  of  Zinzendorf  and  Spangenberg.  They  have  the 
same  God  ;  the  same  salvation,  the  same  Holy  Spirit.  Un- 
*  Report  made  to  the  Synod  of  Linden.  f  Ibid. 


PROTESTANTISM    IN    RUSSIA.  369 

fortunately,  besides  the  Evangelical  party,  there  has  latterly 
been  formed  a  High  Church  party,  that  threatens,  it  is  re- 
ported, "  to  repay  the  Moravian  laborers  with  interest  for 
the  annoyances  which,  for  some  years  past,  they  have  caused 
to  the  church."  May  God  remove  these  new  contentions  from 
that  poor  country ! 

I  will  conclude  this  note,  by  quoting  the  fervent  wishes 
expressed  in  Livonia,  by  one  of  the  lay  members,  who  is 
placed  in  a  most  elevated  station  in  that  country  and  in  that 
church.  "  May  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  his  church,  and 
not  punish  her  according  to  her  iniquity,  but  look  upon  her 
through  the  merits  of  Him  who  became  her  surety  upon  the 
cross,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  holy  name  of  Jesus,  grant  her 
forgiveness  !  May  He,  in  all  places,  inspire  the  members  of 
his  Church  Universal  to  offer  up  fervent  prayers  for  suffer- 
ing brethren ;  for  wherever  one  member  suffers,  the  whole 
body  suffers  with  it.  May  He  bless  you  a  thousandfold  with 
the  fulness  of  his  Spirit,  and  the  abundance  of  his  peace,  O 
man  beloved,  and  thus  make  you  amends  for  all  the  strug- 
gles and  the  troubles  you  have  had  to  endure  for  the  sake 
of  a  sick  member  of  his  body,  the  Evangelical  Church  of  Li- 
vonia. May  He,  in  his  grace,  grant  me  one  day  to  see  your 
face  ;  and  if  not  on  this  earth,  may  it  be,  at  least,  before  the 
throne  of  the  Lamb  that  has  been  slain  for  you  and  for  me !" 

I  therefore  once  more  lift  up  my  voice  to  make  known  to 
my  brethren  of  England,  of  Scotland,  and  of  America,  that 
Church  of  Livonia  whose  leaders  are  descended  from  those 
valiant  knights  who  devoted  themselves,  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  to  provide  for  the  relief  of  sick  or  wounded  Cru- 
saders, and  to  defend  against  the  attacks  of  the  Saracens  all 
those  poor  Christians  who  went  to  bow  the  knee  on  the  hills 
of  Jerusalem.*  Their  children  now  know  better  things: 
they  have  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus,  saying  unto  them,  "  Ye 
shall  no  longer,  neither  in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jerusa- 
lem, worship  the  Father.  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that 

*  The  Teutonic  Knights, 
16* 


370  APPENDIX. 

worship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 
(John,  iv.  21.  24.)  I  therefore  say,  once  again,  to  my  fel- 
low-Christians :  You  have  brethren  who  are  groaning  in 
distress,  who  claim  your  prayers,  who  need  your  sympathy. 
Will  you  not  hearken  to  them  ?  Once  before,  I  have  stated 
these  things.  The  Evangelical  Alliance  for  Christian  Union 
has  held  many  meetings,  has  made  many  speeches,  organ- 
izations and  regulations ;  but  I  do  not  know  that  they  have 
paid  attention  to  what  has  been  told  them  of  the  sufferings 
and  the  tears  of  their  brethren.  What  will  an  Evangelical 
Alliance  do,  if  it  loves  not  the  suffering  members  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  shows  this  love  in  some  way  ?  I  am  not  only  a 
friend  to  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  I  am  also  a  member  and 
a  defender  of  it ;  but  it  is  precisely  on  account  of  the  respect 
I  bear  it,  that  I  demand  of  it  to  become  what  it  ought  to 
be,  and  to  fulfil  its  commission.  "  My  little  children,  let  us 
not  love  in  word,  neither  in  tongue,  but  in  deed  and  in 
truth."  (1  John,  iii.  18.) 

I  hope  that  the  voice  I  have  now  raised  will  not  be  alto- 
gether raised  in  vain.  Even  if  no  more  positive  demonstra- 
tions take  place,  I  hope,  at  least,  that  some  of  my  readers 
will  hold  out  a  brotherly  hand  to  that  respected  minister  of 
the  Synod  of  Linden,  whose  eloquent  and  Christian  discourse 
we  have  now  heard,  and  to  all  the  brethren  and  sisters  around 
him.  I  hope  that  many  prayers  will  be  offered  up  in  private 
in  behalf  of  this  suffering  church,  and  that  she  will  thereby  be 
comforted  and  strengthened,  through  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

I  had  previously  suggested  a  respectful  petition  to  the 
Emperor  of  Russia,  and  a  fraternal  address  to  the  churches 
of  Livonia.  The  former  of  these  communications  may  be  of 
no  avail ;  but  the  latter  would  no  doubt  prove  a  balm  to 
those  bruised  hearts. 

I  have  stated  these  facts  in  their  naked  truth.  I  have 
quoted  the  documents  themselves.  I  have  allowed  those  to 
speak  who  have  a  rightful  interest  in  the  matter.  I  may 


PROTESTANTISM   IN   RUSSIA.  371 

now  keep   silence,  and   this  shall  be  my  last  word  on  the 
subject. 

Some,  even  of  the  godly,  may  occasionally  forget  this  evan- 
gelical precept :  "  Prove  all  things :  hold  fast  that  which  is 
good."  (1  Thess.  v.  21.)  They  may,  without  sufficient  exam- 
ination, decide  in  favor  of  erroneous  accounts.  I  have  had 
some  experience  of  it.  But  no  matter.  Error  is  error  not- 
withstanding, and  truth  is  truth.  There  is  the  voice  of  his- 
tory ; — a  voice  sincere,  solemn,  and  holy ;  and  to  this  voice 
does  victory  belong.  Excuses  and  prejudices  all  pass  away. 
But  the  voice  of  history  still  remains,  because  it  is  the  voice 
of  truth.  We  have  advanced  nothing  rashly :  what  we  have 
asserted  we  can  prove ;  and  we  hope  always  to  be  able  to 
say  with  Saint  Paul,  We  speak  all  things  to  you  in  truth. 
(2  Cor.  vii.  14.) 


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•I  have  revised  this  translation  line  by  line,  and  word  by  word;  and  I  have  re 
stored  the  sense  wherever  I  did  not  find  it  clearly  rendered.  It  is  the  only  ono 
which  I  have  corrected.  I  declare  in  consequence,  that  I  acknowledge  this  trans- 
lation as  the  only  faithful  expression  of  my  thoughts  in  the  English  language,  and 
I  recommend  it  as  such  to  all  iny  readers.'1 


R  .   C  A  11  T  F.  11 '  S    •'  I:  P, ..  I  C  A  T  I  O  N  3. 


(DMIBf MX!  (DAIBUMIif  M!BIBAIB¥c. 

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THOUGHTS  FOR  THE  THOUGHTFUL. 

By  Old  Humphiey.     Fourth  Edition. 

"  Here  good  sense  and  good  humour  are  most  wonderfully  and  most  happily  ble»-  1- 
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WALKS    IN    LONDON, 

And  its  Neighbourhood.     By  Old  Humphrey.     Third  Edition. 

HOMELY    HINTS 

To  Sabbath  School  Teacher*.     By  Old  Humphrey.     Second  Edition. 

MY   GRANDPARENTS: 

Dy  Grandmother  Gilbert,  and   my  Grandfather  Gregory.     By  Old  Hum- 
phrey. 

STROLLS    IN   THE  COUNTRY. 

By  Old  Humphrey. 

THE  OLD   SEA  CAPTAIN. 
By  Old  Humphrey. 

MEDITATIONS  AND   ADDRESSES 

On   the   Subject  of  Prayer.      By  the  R"v.  Hugh  White,   A.M.      Fourth 
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THE   BELIEVER  : 

A  Series  of  Discourses.      By  the  Rev.  Hugh  White,  A.M.     Second  Am* 
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L  U  C  I  L  L  A; 

Or,  the  Reading  of  the  Bible.      By  Adolphe  Monod.     Second  Edition. 
TALES    OF    THE    SCOTTISH 

COVENANTERS. 
By  Robert  Pollok,  A.M.,  author  of  the  "  Course  of  Time." 

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FOR  THE  IMPENITENT. 
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ANNALS    OF  THE  POOR. 

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MCCRIE  ON  ESTHER. 

A  TREATISE  ON  PRAYER. 

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MICHAEL   KEMP, 
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COMFORT   IN    AFFLICTION. 
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PERSUASIVES  TO   EARLY   PIETY. 

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THE  COTTAGE   FIRESIDE; 
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THE  CHRISTIAN   CONTEMPLATED, 

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William  Jay.     New  Edition. 

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CHRISTIAN    FATHER   AT  HOME; 
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THE   LI^E  OF    COL.   GARDINER. 

By  Dr.  Dodd ridge. 
HENRY  ON    PRAYER. 

BOGATZKY'S  GOLDEN   TREASURY. 
SERLES'    CHRISTIAN     REMEMBRANCER. 

A  CONCISE  SYSTEM    OF  THEOLOGY. 
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TALES  OF  THE  SCOTTISH   PEASANTRY. 

By  the  Rev.  Henry  Duncan,  D.D.,  and  others. 

OLD   HUMPHREY'S    PLEASANT  TALES. 

MEDITATIONS  ON   THE   LORD'S   PRAYER. 

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JANE  TAYLOR'S  CONTRIBUTIONS  OF  Q.  Q.    2  vols. 
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DISPLAY.     A  Tale. 
MOTHER  AND  DAUGHTER. 
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THE  SCRIPTURE    READER'S  GUIDE. 

By  Caroline  Fry,  Author  of  the  "  Listener,"  "  Sabbath  Musings." 

THE  PLEASANTNESS  OF  A   RELIGIOUS 
LIFE. 

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THANKFULNESS,   AND  OTHER   ESSAYS. 

By  the  Rev.  James  Hamilton,  Author  of  "  Life  in  Earnest,"  &c. 

LIFE  OF   BISHOP  HALL. 

By  the  Rev.  James  Hamilton. 

THE   FORCE  OF  TRUTH. 

By  the  Rev.  Thomas  Scott. 

LIFE  OF  REV.   WILLIAM   TENNENT. 
PEACE   IN    BELIEVING. 

By  the  Rev.  Walter  McGillvray. 

LOSS  OF  THE   BRIG   AUSTRALIA   BY   FIRE, 

On  her  Voyage  from  Leith  to  Sidney.     Edited  by  J.  R.  McGavin. 

MY  YOUTHFUL  COMPANIONS. 

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INFANT  PIETY. 

A  Book  for  Little  Children.      By  Baptist  W.  Noel,  M.  A. 

A  MEMOIR  OF  JOHN    HUSS. 
POLLOK'S  HELEN  OF  THE  GLEN. 
PERSECUTED  FAMILY. 
EALPH   GEMMELL. 

JESSY  ALLAN,   THE    LAME  GIRL. 

By  Grace  Kennedy,  Author  of  "Anna  Ross,"  &c 

THE  SINNER'S   FRIEND. 

ANECDOTES    ON    SHORTER   CATECHISM 
DECAPOLIS. 

By  the  Rev.  D.  E.  Ford. 
8 


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MEMOIR  OF  JOHN    D.    LOCKWOOD. 

Being  Reminiscences  of  a  Son  by  his  Father 

"A  gifted  mind  ami  cultivated  powers,  hallowed  and  controlled  by  a  sweet  and 
fruitful  pie'y  ;  the  simplicity  of  childhood  mingled  with  the  seriousness  and  discre- 
tion of  niuture  a-jfe, — we  are  sure  oo  one  could  watch  his  brief  career,  terminating  in 
a  death,  though  sudden,  not  unprepared  for,  without  deep  interest.  We  have  read 
it  with  unmiiigled  pleasure  and  profit  " — Tf.  Y.  Evangelist. 

PERFECT  PEACE. 

Letters  Memorial  of  John  Warren  Howell,   Esq,,  of  Bath,   M.  R.  C.  S. 

By  die  Rev.  David  Pitcairn.     With  an  Introduction  by  the  Rev.  John 

Stevenson,  author  of  "  Christ  on  the  Cross,"  "  The  Lord  our  Shepherd 

&c. 

PROFESSION    IS   NOT  PRINCIPLE; 
Or  the  Name  of  Christian  is  not  Christianity.     By  Grace  Kennedy,  authoi 

of  "  Jnssy  Allan,"  "  Anna  Ross,"  &c. 

GOSPEL  PROMISES. 

Being  a  Short  View  of  the  Great  and  Precious  Promises  of  the  Gospel. 

By  the  Rev.  Joseph  Alleine,  author  of  "  An  Alarm  to  the  Unconvert 

ed,"  &c. 

LIFE   IN    EARNEST. 
Six   Lectures  on  Christian   Activity  and  Ardour.     By  the  Rev.  .lame 

Hamilton,  author  of  "  Harp  on  the  Willows,"  &c. 

MY  GRANDMAMMA  GILBERT. 

By  Oid  Humphrey. 

MY  GRANDFATHER  GREGORY. 

By  Old  Humphrey. 

MEMOIR   OF   HANNAH   SINCLAIR. 

By  the  late  Rev.  Legh  Richmond.     From  the  nineteenth  London  Edition 
TRUE  HAPPINESS; 

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of  "  Persuasives  to  Early  Piety,"  &c.     Second  Edition. 

CHARLIE  SEYMOURj 

Or.  the  Good  Aunt  and  the  Bad  Aunt.     By  Miss  Catharine  Sinclair    au- 
thor of  "  Modern  Accomplishments,"  &c.     Third  Edition. 

LIVE  WHILE  YOU    LIVE. 

By  the  Rev.  Thomas  Griffith,  A.M.,  Minister  of  Ram's  Episcopal  Church, 

Homerton. 

CROOK   IN  THE   LOT; 
Or,  a  Display  of  the  Sovereignty  and  Wisdom  of  God  in  the  Afflictions  oil 

Men,  and  the  Christian's  Deportment  under  them.     By  the  Rev.  Thomas 

Boston. 

A  TRIBUTE  OF  PARENTAL  AFFECTION 

To  the  Memory  of  my  beloved  and  only  Daughter,  Hannah  Jerram,  with 
a  Short  Account  of  the  last  Illness  and  Death  of  her  elder  Brother, 
Charles    Stranger    Jerram.       By    the    Rev.  Charles   Jerram,    A.  ML, 
V'irar  of  Cobham,  Surrey.     From  the  fifth  London  Edition. 
9 


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COMMUNICANT'S    COMPANION. 

By  the  Rev.  Matthew  Hcnvy.  With  an  Introductory  Essay,  by  the  Rev 
John  Brown  of  Edinburgn. 

BAXTER'S    CALL. 

Now  or  Never,  &c.     With  an  Introductory  Essay,  by  Dr.  Chalmen. 

RELIGION   AND   ETERNAL    LIFE; 

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THE    FARMER'S    DAUGHTER. 

A  Tale.     By  Mrs.  Cameron. 

LIFE  OF  REV.  JOHN    NEWTON. 

Written  by  himself,  and  continued  to  his  Death.    By  the  Rev.  Rich.  CeciL 

THE    HARP  ON   THE  WILLOWS. 

Remembering  Ziun,  Farewell  to  Egypt,  The  Church  in  the  House,  The 
Dew  of  Hermon,  and  the  Destination  of  the  Jews.  By  the  Rev  Ja§, 
Hamilton,  of  London.  From  the  forty-fifth  London  Edition 

SABBATH    MUSINGS. 

By  Caroline  Fry. 

HERVEY'S     MEDITATIONS 

AND  CONTEMPLATIONS. 
New  Edition. 

THE   HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION 

IN  EUROPE. 
With -a  Chionology. 

MY    SCHOOL-BOY    DAYS. 

SORROWING,    YET    REJOICING. 

Or  a  Narrative  of  Successive  Bereavements  in  a  Clergyman's  Family. 

DIVINE    ORIGIN    OF    CHRISTIANITY. 

By  J.  G.  Pike,  author  of  "True  Happiness."  &c.,  &c. 

A  WORLD    WITHOUT    SOULS. 

By  J.  W.  Cunningham,  A.M.,  Vicar  of  Harrow. 

THE    WORLD'S    RELIGION. 

As  contrasted  with  genuine  Christianity,  by  Lady  Colquhoun. 
ADVICE  TO  A   YOUNG    CHRISTIAN, 
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'Pastor,  with'an  Introduction  by  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander,  of  Princeton,  N.  J 

CHRISTIAN    EXPERIENCE. 

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